HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Disabled People

Tom Levitt: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will make a statement on the Commission's progress in fulfilling its statutory obligation to promote the rights of disabled people.

Nick Harvey: A number of specific actions are in hand to address disability issues. For example:
	The visitor reception building currently under construction will facilitate access for those with mobility problems, providing level access for the first time for all visitors to Westminster Hall and the associated public facilities, and an alternative covered route for ambulatory disabled visitors to Central Lobby and the Palace via Star Chamber Court;
	A programme to improve signage around the parliamentary estate is in hand;
	Hearing loops have been installed in all Committee rooms as well as the Chamber;
	The project to upgrade the parliamentary website is addressing disability access, and disabled users have been consulted as part of the trial;
	Information is being collated on reasonable adjustments that have been made for staff so as to create a 'one stop shop' for information in this area, making it easier for staff and managers to access the information;
	Workshops and guidance notes on supporting staff with disabilities will be available to staff and managers after the summer recess.

European Scrutiny Committee Reports

Michael Gove: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many copies of European Scrutiny Committee reports have been sold in each of the last five years.

Nick Harvey: The number of copies of European Scrutiny Committee publications (reports, special reports and minutes of evidence volumes) sold in each of the last five financial years is as follows:
	
		
			  Copies 
		
		
			 2001–02 3,999 
			 2002–03 5,451 
			 2003–04 5,041 
			 2004–05 3,765 
			 2005–06 2,793

TRANSPORT

Concessionary Travel

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what reasons underlay the Government's decision not to include community transport schemes within the definition of bus services eligible for the purposes of statutory concessionary travel schemes under the Travel Concessions (Eligible Services) Order 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Travel Concessions (Eligible Services) Order 2002 was made under the Transport Act 2000 and reflects the policy that the statutory entitlement to concessionary fares applies to local bus travel. Concessions on community transport services can be provided at the discretion of individual local authorities along with other help towards costs.

Highway Maintenance (Peterborough)

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will instruct his officials to review the Local Transport Plan highway maintenance allocation to Peterborough city council for 2006–07, with particular reference to the impact of the formulaic approach to capital allocation; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: In December 2004 Peterborough was given indicative allocations for highway maintenance in the Local Transport Plan settlement of £2.409 million for 2005–06 and £2.209 million for 2006–07.
	These sums were calculated by formula and included specific amounts for strengthening structures on the primary route network. The formula had a dampening mechanism that prevented maintenance allocations varying by more than 25 per cent. from the previous year, and in the case of Peterborough the sums given to them for primary route work had the effect of depressing the amount available to them for other maintenance work.
	A consultation on the LTP maintenance formula took place in 2005, and it was decided that from 2007–08 primary route network allocations will not be included when applying the 25 per cent. year on year dampening mechanism. This will rectify the problem experienced by Peterborough.

Ministerial Cars (Fuel Costs)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the fuel costs were for ministerial cars used by his Department in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: Ministerial cars are provided by the Government Car Service (GCS) in accordance with the Prime Minister's guidance 'Travel by Ministers'. A breakdown of the figures in the format requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Parking

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  when the Government last published guidelines to local authorities on parking enforcement and what the title of the publication was;
	(2)  what plans the Government has to issue revised guidelines to local authorities on parking enforcement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Government published Local Authority Circular 1/95 (Welsh Office Circular 26/95), "Guidance on Decriminalised Parking Enforcement outside London" in 1995. The Department is producing regulations and statutory guidance on civil parking enforcement under Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004; in addition the Department is revising Local Authority Circular 1/95. Public consultation will take place later this year with implementation in 2007.

Parking

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with what requirements private parking enforcement companies have to comply to gain access to personal information from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in the process of enforcing penalties for parking offences.

Stephen Ladyman: Regulation 27(1)(e) of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 requires DVLA to release information held on its vehicle record to anyone who can demonstrate 'reasonable cause' to have that information.
	Companies that make regular requests for information are required to provide a full résumé of their business practices, detailing how they meet 'reasonable cause' and outline how they will use any information they receive. Information is then released on the basis that it will be used only for that purpose. Applicants are reminded that use of the information for any other purpose is an offence under the Data Protection Act 1998.
	Companies that request and receive information electronically are visited by DVLA staff prior to any link being established. These links are operated in the context of clear terms of agreement, which outlines when information may be requested, how it can be used and how it should be stored. The DVLA has the right to carry out ad hoc audits on companies to ensure that all inquires are appropriate. Any suspected abuses will be investigated and, when appropriate, referred to the Information Commissioner for prosecution.

Railways

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on proposals for a high speed rail link between Scotland and England.

Derek Twigg: The Government have a manifesto commitment to look at the feasibility and affordability of a new North-South high-speed link. The merits of a high speed line need to be rigorously examined before we will be in a position to make an announcement.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport announced on 15 March that the Department will publish a long term strategy for the railways along side the High Level Output Specification. The Department will take forward consideration of high speed lines as part of this work.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when (a) he and (b) one of his agencies last carried out a national survey of railway station usage.

Derek Twigg: The Department for Transport has been collecting usage data from stations across Great Britain over 2004 and 2005 to complete the National Rail Travel Survey. Results from this survey should be available towards the end of 2006.

Seat Belts

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with representatives of the media on the reporting of serious road traffic accidents and whether those involved were wearing seat-belts.

Stephen Ladyman: As part of the Think! road safety campaign we engage regularly with the media to encourage the promotion of road safety messages.
	Ministers or officials in this Department have not had discussions with the media specifically about the reporting of accidents and whether those involved in the accidents were wearing seat-belts.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Entrepreneurs

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of entrepreneurs above the age of 50 years in the North East.

Alun Michael: The Government encourage people of all ages to become entrepreneurs and I recognise the considerable potential that exists among people also over the age of 50 years. Most business support is available to people over 50, but we do recognise a need for specific advice and assistance to increase entrepreneurial activity in this age group.
	ONE North East has produced the North East of England Enterprise Strategy in association with regional partners in the public and private sectors. The strategy draws together the priorities for encouraging and developing existing and potential entrepreneurial talent across all age groups, and outlines the actions, time scales and responsibilities for their delivery.
	One example of funding specifically targeted at the over 50s age group is the Challenge Fund strand of the Small Business Service's Phoenix Fund which awarded PRIME (the Prince's Initiative for Mature Enterprise) some £1.4 million in revenue and loan guarantees up to 31 March 2006 to support that organisation's national activities to help people aged over 50 set up in business.
	More generally, the following DTI supported initiatives are also contributing to increased entrepreneurial activity in the region across all sectors and age groups:
	support provided through the Business Link network in the region,
	ongoing restructuring and simplification of Government business support,
	some £2 million Phoenix Fund support for four community development finance institutions in the region to provide finance and support to enterprises and entrepreneurs in under-represented and disadvantaged groups,
	£26.4 million to be shared by Easington, Derwentside, Wear Valley, Sedgefield and South Tyneside under the local enterprise growth initiative (LEGI).

EU Structural Funds

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which (a) areas and (b) regions are due to receive less EU structural funds over the next financial perspective than under their current allocation; and what the difference in the sums allocated is in each case.

Alun Michael: On 20 December 2005 I made a written statement to the House on the outcome of the European Council regarding reform of the EU structural and cohesion funds. My statement set out the implications of the budgetary agreement for the UK for the 2007–13 financial perspective. The progress made was very good news for the UK and a positive achievement of the UK presidency.
	The position remains as I set out in my statement. It is not possible at this stage to provide precise figures for the amounts to be received by individual regions post-2006. We will only know this once the European Commission has produced official structural funds allocations for the UK and its regions.

Glass Manufacturing

Eric Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what forecast his Department has made of employment levels in the UK container glass manufacturing industry over the next five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The department does not make forecasts for employment in the glass container industry. However I am aware that the total UK glass industry, including glazing for construction and the automotive sector, employs 31,000 1 .
	1 Office for National Statistics Annual Business Inquiry 2004.

Hearing Loss Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consideration has been given by Ministers to the implications for claimants for compensation of noise-induced hearing loss of breaches of rule 4(2)c of the Conditional Fee Agreement Regulations 2000.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The implications for claimants of a breach of the above regulations are:
	1. The compensation to be paid by the Department would be unaffected.
	2. If the agreement between the claimant and their representative is deemed to be invalid then the claimant has no liability to his solicitor for his solicitors costs.
	3. The claimant's liability for disbursements remains (except possibly for the After The Event Insurance (ATE) premium, depending on what a court might decide) and the Department has therefore instructed that interim payments on account of disbursements be made as appropriate and on a case-by-case basis.

Hearing Loss Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about breaches of rule 4(2)c of the Conditional Fee Agreement Regulations 2000 in relation to noise-induced hearing loss cases.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Matters are presently before the courts and it would be wrong to make a statement while the issue is under consideration.

Sex Discrimination Cases

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many sex discrimination cases have been initiated by people in (a) Wakefield District and (b) Normanton constituency over the past five years; and how many of these have been successful.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following table shows the total number of sex discrimination claims that have been registered by the Employment Tribunals Service over the past five years and the number of successful cases at tribunal. Statistical information for individual districts and constituencies is not readily available and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Total claims registered Successful at tribunal 
		
		
			 2004–05 11,726 299 
			 2003–04 17,722 306 
			 2002–03 11,001 363 
			 2001–02 15,703 368 
			 2000–01 25,940 417 
		
	
	Source:
	Employment Tribunals Service Annual Reports

Sunday Trading

Shahid Malik: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will seek to amend schedule 4 of the Sunday Trading Act 1994 to extend the right not to work on any Sunday exercisable by shop workers to include distribution workers who work in the retail sector.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Sunday shopping review is looking at the restrictions on Sunday shop opening hours. The issue of the right not to work on Sundays is not within the scope of the review and we have no plans to extend protection in this area.

Sunday Trading

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether potential liberalisation of Sunday trading hours will be undertaken by (a) primary legislation and (b) an amendment to the Sunday Trading Act 1994 using a regulatory reform order.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Ministers have yet to take a view on the review of Sunday shop opening hours. However if we were to relax the current restrictions, it would be by primary legislation.

World Heritage Sites

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which Minister in his Department has responsibility for issues relating to world heritage sites.

Alan Johnson: Lead responsibility for policy on world heritage sites rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport works closely with relevant Government Departments on all issues affecting world heritage sites. Within DTI, there is no single Minister with specific responsibilities for world heritage sites and any issues relating to DTI are dealt with by the appropriate Minister concerned.

WALES

Superannuation Liability

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what total amount of employers' normal contributions accruing superannuation liability charge have been accounted for by his Department in each of the last five years for which data are available.

Peter Hain: The amount of employers' accruing superannuation liability charges in respect of Wales Office members of the principal civil service pension scheme in the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 2005–06 333 
			 2004–05 215 
			 2003–04 202 
			 2002–03 181 
			 2001–02 160

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Fledgling Democracies

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much UK aid will be provided (a) bilaterally and (b) multilaterally to promote and further democracy in 2006–07.

Gareth Thomas: DFID tracks its bilateral expenditure by monitoring expenditure against specific sector objectives, one of which is improved governance. This includes different aspects of state building such as support to improve popular participation in the decision making process, and building capacity to improve government's accountability to its citizens. It also covers the encouragement of more pluralist and democratic political systems.
	Some funding decisions are still being taken, however, given the importance that DFID attaches to governance, I would expect the share of bilateral governance expenditure to be at least maintained at current levels, and probably increased. Based on figures for 2005–06 this suggests somewhere in the order of £347 million or 13.9 per cent. of the total bilateral spend.
	In addition, DFID provides funding to a number of multilateral institutions such as the European Development Fund, World Bank, United Nations Agencies and Regional Development Banks, and this is pooled with other donors. In many cases these institutions support a range of activities, including governance. The UK share of this is not tracked.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Websites

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list (a) the websites operated by her Department and (b) the reports placed on the internet in March 2006, indicating in each case whether paper copies were also made available.

David Lammy: The information is as follows.
	
		(a)
		
			 Website URL 
		
		
			 BBC Charter Review http://www.bbccharterreview.org.uk/ 
			 Better Public Buildings http://www.betterpublicbuildings.gov.uk 
			 Break Out http://www.culture.gov.uk/breakout/fl/index.htm 
			 Communications Act 2003 http://www.communicationsact.gov.uk/ 
			 Communications Bill http://www.communicationsbill.gov.uk 
			 Communications White Paper http://www.communicationswhitepaper.gov.uk 
			 Culture Online http://www.cultureonline.gov.uk/ 
			 DCMS (main site) http://www.culture.gov.uk 
			 Digital Television http://www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk 
			 Flying the Union Flag http://www.culture.gov.uk/flagflying/default.htm 
			 Government Art Collection http://www.gac.culture.gov.uk/home/index.asp 
			 Lottery 2009 shares consultation http://www.lottery2009.culture.gov.uk/ 
			 Mobility of Collections http://www.culture.gov.uk/mobilitv/ 
			 UK World Heritage site http://www.ukworldheritage.org.uk/ 
		
	
	
		(b)
		
			  Report Availability 
		
		
			 March 2006 Your BBC, You've Spoken: White Paper summary leaflets (English and Welsh Versions) Available on paper 
			 March 2006 White Paper "A public service for all: the BBC in the digital age", DCMS, March 2006 Available on paper 
			 March 2006 Draft Royal Charter and Framework Agreement (BBC) Only online and in the Libraries of both Houses 
			 March 2006 Regulatory Impact Assessment (BBC Charter Review) Only online and in the Libraries of both Houses 
			 1 March 2006 Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel in respect of a painting held by the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford Available on paper 
			 1 March 2006 Sustainable Development Action Plan Available on paper 
			 13 March 2006 Independent Review into the purpose and function of the AERC Available on paper 
			 13 March 2006 Summary of Responses and Conclusion on the Three-year (Gambling) Licensing Policy Statement Regulations Consultation Available on paper 
			 16 March 2006 Advertising By Remote Gaming Operators Available on paper 
			 25 March 2006 Reflecting on the past and looking to the future: The 2007 Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade in the British Empire Available on paper 
			 30 March 2006 London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act: Regulatory Impact Assessment Available on paper 
			 31 March2006 Response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Report on Broadcasting Rights for Cricket Session 2005–06 Cm 6772 Available on paper

Heritage Lottery Fund

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund to organisations and projects in (a) each constituency and (b) each council district in Northern Ireland.

David Lammy: Details of grants awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund to organisations and projects in Northern Ireland between April 1994 and March 2006 are set out as follows.
	
		
			 UK constituency Total (£) 
		
		
			 Belfast, East 2,508,674 
			 Belfast, North 5,880,819 
			 Belfast, South 17,965,910 
			 Belfast, West 4,410,764 
			 East Antrim 7,143,152 
			 East Londonderry 3,289,493 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 4,060,555 
			 Foyle 6,613,184 
			 Lagan Valley 7,324,516 
			 Mid Ulster 2,377,513 
			 Mid-Ulster 1,236,201 
			 Newry and Armagh 9,525,380 
			 North Antrim 8,213,825 
			 North Down 2,029,400 
			 South Antrim 1,533,002 
			 South Down 6,944,365 
			 Strangford 5,432,816 
			 Upper Bann 2,373,610 
			 West Tyrone 3,689,838 
			 Grand total 102,553,017 
			   
			 Local authority  
			 Antrim 1,470,120 
			 Ards 5,015,900 
			 Armagh 5,716,761 
			 Ballymena 6,301,242 
			 Ballymoney 347,595 
			 Banbridge 729,007 
			 Belfast 28,728,081 
			 Carrickfergus 1,992,500 
			 Castlereagh 1,658,406 
			 Coleraine 1,719,800 
			 Cookstown 1,041,421 
			 Craigavon 2,347,960 
			 Derry City 6,608,184 
			 Down 5,755,280 
			 Dungannon 2,282,619 
			 Fermanagh 2,345,166 
			 Larne 4,732,152 
			 Limavady 1,566,998 
			 Lisburn 6,629,348 
			 Magherafelt 2,005,063 
			 Moyle 1,574,683 
			 Newry and Mourne 5,393,506 
			 Newtownabbey 824,751 
			 North Down 2,029,400 
			 Omagh 1,593,355 
			 Strabane 2,096,483 
			 No local authority given 47,236 
			 Grand total 102,553,017

Internet Gambling

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what research her Department has (a) carried out and (b) commissioned into of internet gambling addiction among young people;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the problem of internet gambling addiction among young people;
	(3)  what research she has (a) carried out and (b) commissioned into the use of internet gambling sites by underage people;
	(4)  what assessment she had made of the use of internet gambling sites by under-age people.

Richard Caborn: In 2001, the National Lottery Commission published research monitoring trends in the level of participation in National Lottery games by 12 to 15-year-olds. The research also looked into the prevalence of problem gambling by under-16s and considered under-16s participation in some other forms of gambling, but not internet gambling. (Under-16s and the National lottery Tracking Survey, July 2000.)
	This research is being updated currently and the results, which are due to be published at the end of summer 2006, will include some comparative information about under-16s participation in other forms of gambling, irrespective of the way in which facilities to gamble are provided, and will also contain specific information on internet lottery use.

Olympic Games

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with (a) local authorities, (b) the Olympic Delivery Authority and (c) other agencies on the future of Hackney Marshes and the Olympic precinct in Hackney following the Games in 2012.

Richard Caborn: The London Development Agency is currently working with the London borough of Hackney to develop a comprehensive proposal of improvements for the future of the Marshes, recognising that it is a very important local recreational facility and ecological site. It is expected that plans for the Marshes will be publicly consulted on over the summer.
	In terms of the temporary use of East Marsh during the Games, this part of the Marshes will be fully restored after the Games as part of the overall improvement plan for the Marshes. Restoring East Marsh back to its current use is a commitment that the Games stakeholders are firmly committed to; furthermore it is a legally binding condition of the planning consent granted in October 2004.
	In line with Hackney borough council's aspirations, the legacy development will provide space for industrial and other workspace units and areas of new open space. In addition, one of the three indoor arenas will be retained in order to provide a sports venue for Hackney.
	The Olympic Delivery Authority, which has recently been established, will be working with boroughs and other stakeholders to ensure that there are viable and sustainable legacy plans for all permanent venues and infrastructure.

Olympic Games

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will take steps to allow Olympic participants in pistol shooting events to practise for the events in the UK.

Richard Caborn: Under current legislation, as a result of the Firearms Amendment Act (1997), three of the 15 shooting disciplines defined as an Olympic sport cannot be practised within Britain.
	This legislation is the responsibility of the Home Office.
	Strong representations have been made on this matter, which I have brought to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary for consideration.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Forestry

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the environmental record of the Australian Forest Standard; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 19 December 2005, Official Report, column 2394W, about the remit of the Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET) and the Australian Forest Standard.
	CPET checked the PEFC scheme in February 2006 to see how the endorsed national schemes were implementing the new requirements introduced by the PEFC Council in 2004 and 2005. CPET examined 14 national schemes, one of which was the Australian Forest Certification Scheme.
	CPET did not assess the performance outcomes of the Australian Forest Standard. Instead the focus was on whether the PEFC system had been adopted at the national scheme level. The Government have decided to give further consideration to the PEFC scheme as part of a wider review of all the forest certification schemes assessed by CPET in 2004. This was announced in Defra News release 144/06 on 30 March 2006, see: http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2006/060330g.htm
	Further details on the CPET assessments can be found on the website: http://www.proforest.net/cpet

Forestry

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in what circumstances the Central Point of Expertise on Timber would remove the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification scheme from its approved list of certifiers of sustainable timber.

Elliot Morley: The Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET) may assess a forest certification scheme as no longer meeting the Government's criteria for robust assurance of sustainable timber sources but it would be for the Government to decide what advice CPET should give to central departments as a result.
	The circumstances under which a forest certification scheme would fail the test for credible assurance are explained in the CPET document—"Criteria for Evaluating Certification Schemes"—see CPET website at http://www.proforest.net/cpet. In essence, if a scheme were assessed as scoring zero on any one of the relevant assessment criteria or scoring less than 75 per cent. of the total possible score on the relevant criteria then it would fail the test. Any such failure would cause the Government to consider changing the status of that scheme in respect of the level of assurance it would accept.

Forestry

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures the Government are taking to ensure that the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification scheme includes mandatory and enforceable minimum standards for all its national members.

Elliot Morley: The Government currently accept certificates from the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) scheme as assurance of legal and sustainable timber sources. This acceptance is subject to the UK Government being satisfied that national forest certification schemes endorsed by PEFC are all applying the PEFC standard consistently in their own countries. A sample check has been undertaken to establish to position. The initial findings led the Government to conclude that further examination and consultation should be undertaken before reaching a decision and that the forthcoming review of PEFC and the other schemes assessed by the Central Point of Expertise on Timber would provide an appropriate opportunity to do that.
	The Government cannot ensure that PEFC includes mandatory and enforceable minimum standards for all its national members. PEFC is an independent private sector organisation that sets its own standard and system requirements for implementation. However, the UK Government could choose not to accept PEFC certificates as assurance of responsible timber sources and that is why we are undertaking the assessments and reviews already mentioned.

Forestry

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what dates discussions have been held between representatives of the British and Australian governments regarding the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Representatives of the UK and Australian Governments, including officials as well as Ministers of State, met with each other on the following dates to discuss the UK Government's timber procurement policy and within those discussions talked about the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes:
	07 March 2006—Ministers and officials
	20 March 2006—officials only
	24 April 2006—officials only

Forestry

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the 'outstanding issues' were which were found by the review of the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification scheme which caused the probation period to be extended.

Elliot Morley: The outstanding issues relate to the decision making process for forest management standard setting as adopted by the national schemes that have been endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). The PEFC Council's new requirement for standard setting is that
	"The formal approval of standards shall be based on evidence of consensus".
	An initial examination of some of the national schemes showed that the various national decision making processes were not identical. Subsequent information supplied by the schemes indicated that the processes adopted may nevertheless result in compliance with the PEFC Council requirements but the situation was not at all clear-cut and called for more examination.
	Another factor considered was the impending review of all the forest certification schemes assessed by CPET in 2004. The Government has decided that this review will, in addition to examining published scheme requirements, consider evidence of failure to adopt scheme system requirements. A decision now on PEFC's probationary status may be overturned following the review. That would create significant confusion in the market place and loss of credibility for the CPET assessment process.
	The UK Government was mindful of the implications any ill judged decision would have on all the stakeholders involved and was anxious to be as objective and fair as possible. Consequently, the decision was to postpone making a decision on PEFC's probationary status until after the review of schemes scheduled for late spring 2006.

Grievance Procedures

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many grievance procedures have been initiated in her Department in each of the last three years.

Jim Knight: The Civil Service Management Code sets out the requirements for Departments to have procedures in place to deal with grievances. The Defra Grievance Procedures are laid down on the Departmental intranet.
	The central guidance lays down that where there have been less than five grievances raised in any one year that the information is suppressed on the grounds of confidentiality.
	The number of formal grievances that have been initiated in the core-Department in each of the last three years are as follows:
	2003—less than 5
	2004—7
	2005—less than 5

National Equine Database

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to increase the take-up of the National Equine Database.

Jim Knight: 75 of the 80 equine data supplier organisations are already providing the compulsory passport data and some voluntary data. It is in the voluntary data that the value of National Equine Database (NED), and its use to the public, lies—to enable the combination of pedigree and performance data to inform the breeding and buying public so that they can purchase horses and make breeding decisions with a greater degree of confidence.
	NED already holds over 673,000 records, however we do need more pedigree data in NED if the on-line services are to be launched on schedule later this year. The Industry/Government partnership delivering NED is in direct contact with the few breed societies yet to supply pedigree data, with a view to helping them come to a decision to provide this information this summer. Personal presentations on the benefit of NED to the industry and NED Newsletters have proved an excellent tool to promote NED—see www.ned.uk.com for information.
	We are planning an extensive marketing campaign to inform the equestrian public of the value of NED and its relevance to their particular interests. This will begin in August, leading to the launch of www.nedonline.co.uk, which is scheduled for end October.

Single Farm Payments

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the reasons for the difference in the actual and projected number of applications for Single Farm Payment; and how many of these additional applicants she expects to be (a) eligible for entitlement and (b) disallowed.

Jim Knight: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has recorded a total of 120,367 claim forms under the Single Payment Scheme in England, but this may include some duplicates. However, it is expected that the final number will remain in line with forecasts, which ranged from 110,000 to 130,000.
	Given that the validation of claims is still progressing it is not possible at this stage to give meaningful figures on the number of claimants who will not receive a payment and/or entitlements.

Social Exclusion

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding streams her Department plans to finance in 2006–07 to tackle social exclusion.

Jim Knight: There are a number of relevant funding streams that will be financed by Defra in the period 2006–07,covering two aspects of social exclusion in particular: fuel poverty and rural disadvantage.
	Defra plays a leading role in taking forward the Government's commitment to tackle fuel poverty in vulnerable households in England by 2010. The new phase of the Warm Front Scheme, which is the key tool for tackling fuel poverty in the private sector in England, was launched in June 2005. In addition, it was announced in the 2005 Pre-Budget Report that an additional £300 million would be made available to tackle fuel poverty across the UK over the 2005–08 period. In England, this means that total fuel poverty funding over the same period will exceed £800 million.
	The new Rural Social and Community programme, will provide funding for locally-determined activities aimed at tackling social exclusion and community capacity building in rural areas. The programme, worth £27 million over two years, commences on 1 April 2006.
	In addition, Defra is investing £21.3 million through the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) in order to promote sustainable delivery of rural services such as health, transport and education.

Water Companies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated amount of water lost through broken pipes by each of the privatised water companies was in the last period for which figures are available.

Elliot Morley: The Director General of Water Services publishes leakage figures annually in the 'Security of supply, leakage and the efficient use of water' reports. Total water company leakage for 2004–05, in megalitres per day, was reported as follows:
	
		
			  Megalitres 
		
		
			 Anglian 214 
			 Bournemouth and W Hants 22 
			 Bristol 53 
			 Cambridge 14 
			 Dee Valley 11 
			 Dwr Cymru 226 
			 Folkestone and Dover 8 
			 Mid Kent 29 
			 Northumbrian North 155 
			 Northumbrian South 67 
			 Portsmouth 30 
			 Severn Trent 502 
			 South East 69 
			 South Staffordshire 74 
			 South West 83 
			 Southern 92 
			 Sutton and East Surrey 24 
			 Tendring Hundred 5 
			 Thames 915 
			 Three Valleys 149 
			 United Utilities 500 
			 Wessex 73 
			 Yorkshire 293

Water Companies

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the level of dividends passed by water companies to their shareholders in each year since water services were privatised;
	(2)  what (a) amount and (b) proportion of total income of each water company was paid (i) to service debt and borrowing and (ii) in dividend payments to shareholders in each year since privatisation for which records are available.

Elliot Morley: Ofwat is the economic regulator of the water and sewerage companies in England and Wales. It sets price limits for each water company at price reviews. These are the maximum by which average charges may change each year. Ofwat sets price limits that allow each company to finance and fulfil its functions.
	Dividends declared by the regulated companies are paid to their parent companies and are in their regulatory accounts. The companies are also required by Ofwat to provide a comprehensive explanation of the basis of the dividend. The parent companies report in their statutory accounts what is actually paid to shareholders.
	Companies report to Ofwat each year in their profit and loss accounts the level of dividends and interest payments to service debt and borrowing. I will place copies in the House Library.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Alzheimer's Disease

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what response he has made to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence appraisal consultation document on drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease in relation to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: Guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is only applicable to England and Wales and does not currently extend to Northern Ireland. In light of this, the Department of Health, Social Service and Public Safety has not made a response to the Institute's appraisal consultation documents on drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
	The Department is in the process of establishing formal links with the Institute and will advise the Health and Personal Social Services on the applicability to Northern Ireland of the Institute's final recommendations on the Alzheimer's drugs.

Capital Expenditure (Schools)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total capital expenditure has been for each school in the 100 (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Northern Ireland with the (i) highest and (ii) lowest percentage of children receiving free school meals in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: Free school meals entitlement instead of pupils receiving free school meals is a better measure of need. Data for percentages of pupils actually receiving free school meals are held by Education and Library Boards and it would not have been possible to extract the data for all the years requested inside the allocated timescale.
	The information on major works capital expenditure using free school meals entitlement will be placed in the Library.

Child Sex Abuse

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what correspondence he has received from members of the public on child sexual abuse by clerics.

Shaun Woodward: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has received one letter asking if there was going to be an independent public inquiry into allegations of clerical child sexual abuse and two telephone calls seeking advice on how to report allegations of abuse by clergy.
	The Police Services of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has received two pieces of correspondence from members of the public on this subject during the past year.
	PSNI and Social Services are the statutory organisations with powers to investigate allegations of abuse.

Civil Partnerships

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2005, Official Report, column 2197W, on homosexual civil partnerships, whether (a) council staff and (b) registrar's office staff who have objections of a religious, moral or conscience nature can refuse to participate in civil partnership ceremonies.

Angela Smith: I am sorry for the delay in replying which was caused by an administrative error.
	Each district council in its role as a local registration authority is required to appoint a Registrar of Civil Partnerships. In discharging this duty district councils as employers are required to comply with all relevant legislation.

Civil Partnerships

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2005, Official Report, column 2197W, on homosexual civil partnerships, what plans he has to provide (a) information, (b) training and (c) assistance to ensure that (i) council staff and (ii) registrar's office staff with objections to homosexual and lesbian civil partnership ceremonies of a religious, moral or conscience nature are properly protected.

Angela Smith: I am sorry for the delay in replying which was caused by an administrative error.
	Each district council in its role as a local registration authority is required to appoint a Registrar of Civil Partnerships. In discharging this duty district councils as employers are required to advise staff of their rights and responsibilities under the law.

Deaf Young People

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Department for Education has spent on educating deaf post-primary children and young people outside Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The following table shows the amount spent by each Education and Library Board on educating deaf post-primary children and young people outside Northern Ireland, for the last five years, where available.
	
		
			 Education and Library 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 Total 
		
		
			 Belfast(1) 58,850.00 58,850.00 58,850.00 29,425.00 (3)— 205,975.00 
			 North Eastern n/a n/a 36,702.00 67,886.00 88,376.00 n/a 
			 South Eastern 117,000.00 179,000.00 151,000.00 172,000.00 57,000.00 676,000.00 
			 Southern 21,527.60 (3)— (3)— 6,923.30 27,169.00 48,696.60 
			 Western(2) 33,400.70 36,677.32 40,568.83 43,518.38 44,599.31 198,764.54 
		
	
	n/a = not available.
	(1) Belfast Education and Library Board Estimate based on average costs.
	(2) Western Education and Library Board includes Transport Costs averaged over five years.
	(3) No children funded to attend schools outside Northern Ireland.
	Note:
	Total costs for 2001–02 and 2002–03 in the North Eastern Education and Library Board are not available as separate records were not kept until 2003.

Free Transport (Senior Citizens)

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment has he made of the impact on Northern Ireland of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcement on the free national transport scheme for the elderly.

Shaun Woodward: The provision of concessionary fares on public transport is a devolved matter throughout the United Kingdom. The Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcement referred to arrangements in England. In Northern Ireland the current concessionary fares scheme already allows for free travel for senior citizens throughout Northern Ireland.

Multi-storey Car Parks

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many multi-storey car parks have been constructed in Northern Ireland under the auspices of a Government Department in each of the last 10 years.

Shaun Woodward: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
	Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin, dated 27 April 2006
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question regarding how many multi-storey car parks have been constructed in Northern Ireland under the auspices of a Government department in each of the last 10 years. I have been asked to reply.
	Roads Service has now constructed any multi-storey car parks in the last 10 years. However a two-storey car park was constructed in 1997–98 in Newry by Translink replacing car park spaces lost through construction of a new bus station.
	I can also advise that the Department for Social Development has provided support for two retail developments, which include the provision of multi storey car parking facilities, within the last 10 years. These developments are in Londonderry in the Foyleside Shopping Centre which includes two multi-storey car parks, and in Spencer Road/Duke Street which includes one multi-storey car park.

Planning Area Enforcement Orders

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the penalty is for non-compliance with an enforcement order issued by a planning area in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: Failure to comply with an enforcement notice which has taken effect is an offence. A person found guilty of such an offence shall be liable to a fine which shall be determined by the courts. The maximum penalty for an offence is £30,000 on summary conviction in the magistrates court. If a person is convicted in a Crown court then the fine could be unlimited. In determining the amount of any fine to be imposed on a person, the legislation indicates that the court shall in particular have regard to any financial benefit which has accrued or appears likely to accrue in consequence of the offence.

Postgraduate Studentships

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland have been awarded postgraduate studentships since October 2005; and at what cost to public funds.

Angela Smith: The Department makes available funding for a number of postgraduate awards for higher degree courses leading to Masters and PhDs at Queen's University Belfast and the University of Ulster and the universities select, by competition, the students to fill these awards. Since the beginning of the academic year in October 2005, the universities have made a total of 218 postgraduate studentships at a cost of £2.095 million.

Public Transport

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by how much (a) weekly, (b) monthly and (c) daily train and bus fares between (i) Lurgan and Belfast, (ii) Lisburn and Belfast, (iii) Antrim and Belfast, (iv) Bangor and Belfast and (v) Londonderry and Belfast have changed in the last 12 months.

Shaun Woodward: Translink has advised that the information is not available in the format requested as Ulsterbus issue 10 and 40 journey tickets, rather than weekly and monthly tickets.
	There have been two fare increases in the financial year to 31 March 2006. The following table details the percentage increase in NI Railway and Ulsterbus fares.
	
		Percentage
		
			 Belfast to NI Railways Ulsterbus 
		
		
			 Lurgan Single 9.3 Single 10 
			  Weekly 12.9 10 journey 10 
			  Monthly 13.9 40 journey 15.7 
			  
			 Lisburn Single 8.0 Single 9.5 
			  Weekly 10.8 10 journey 9.4 
			  Monthly 13.9 40 journey 9.3 
			  
			 Antrim Single 8.6 Single 9.1 
			  Weekly 7.5 10 journey 8.0 
			  Monthly 13.9 40 journey 8.4 
			  
			 Bangor Single 8.6 Single 11.1 
			  Weekly 7.5 10 journey 12.2 
			  Monthly 13.9 40 journey 11.5 
			  
			 Londonderry Single 8.9 Single 9.3 
			  Weekly 13.7 10 journey 10.0 
			  Monthly 13.6 40 journey 17.4

Public Transport

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which were the busiest (a) rail and (b) bus routes between Belfast and other provincial towns in Northern Ireland in the last period for which figures are available.

Shaun Woodward: Translink has advised me that in the last financial year (1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006) the Belfast to Portadown rail route carried the highest number of passengers, as did the Belfast to Londonderry bus route.

Public Transport

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) rail and (b) bus passengers were carried on average each day between (i) Lurgan and Belfast, (ii) Portadown and Belfast, (iii) Lisburn and Belfast, (iv) Antrim and Belfast, (v) Bangor and Belfast and (vi) Londonderry and Belfast in the latest period for which figures are available.

Shaun Woodward: The daily figures in the following tables were calculated by dividing the total figures for the final accounting period of 2005–06 by 35 (as there were 35 days in that accounting period).
	The following table provides the average number of rail journeys each day on the routes requested. All journeys are between the station stated and the four Belfast stations taken as a group (Central, Botanic, City hospital and Great Victoria street) and do not include passengers who boarded at intermediate points.
	
		Rail passenger journeys each day, March 2006
		
			 Between location Journey 
		
		
			 Belfast and Portadown 760 
			 Belfast and Lurgan 1,056 
			 Belfast and Lisburn 1,364 
			 Belfast and Antrim 170 
			 Belfast and Bangor 2,275 
			 Belfast and Londonderry 82 
		
	
	The following table provides the average number of bus journeys each day on the routes requested. All journeys are between any stage within the named town (e.g. Bangor, Bangor depot, Bangor station, Bangor town centre etc.) and Belfast (e.g. Belfast Great Victoria street, Belfast Laganside, Belfast city centre etc. taken as a group). Again the figures do not include passengers boarding at intermediate points.
	
		Bus passenger journeys each day, March 2006
		
			 Between location Journey 
		
		
			 Belfast and Portadown 43 
			 Belfast and Lurgan 68 
			 Belfast and Lisburn 375 
			 Belfast and Antrim 290 
			 Belfast and Bangor 235 
			 Belfast and Londonderry 1,040

Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to promote in Northern Ireland the Smithsonian Folklife Festival to be held in Washington D.C. during the summer of 2007.

David Hanson: A communications strategy is being developed to promote to the general public, opinion formers, politicians and the media, the benefits of Northern Ireland's participation in the Smithsonian Institution's Folklife Festival in 2007. Although there has been some publicity, the main actions cannot commence until July when the Smithsonian Institution announce Northern Ireland's representation at the festival.

Superannuation Entitlements

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many part-time members of staff at each health trust in the Province have submitted industrial tribunal applications regarding non-payment of superannuation entitlements.

Shaun Woodward: 281 industrial tribunal applications have been lodged by part-time staff seeking retrospective access to the HPSS Superannuation Scheme.
	Details of numbers of applications by Trust are not held centrally. I will write to the hon. Member with the information as soon as it becomes available and place a copy in the Library.

Superannuation Entitlements

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many industrial tribunal applications by part-time staff from each health trust in the Province regarding superannuation entitlements (a) have been successful, (b) have been rejected and (c) are still to be resolved.

Shaun Woodward: This information is not held centrally. I will write to the hon. Member with the information as soon as it becomes available and place a copy in the Library.

Superannuation Entitlements

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether job contracts from prior to 1976 stating that part-time staff payments to NHS staff in the Province are not superannuable have been considered significant by the industrial tribunal.

Shaun Woodward: Any HPSS employee who worked at least half the standard weekly contractual hours has been entitled to join the HPSS superannuation scheme since 1 April 1973. The industrial tribunal has no jurisdiction to consider claims for exclusion from the superannuation scheme in respect of any period earlier than 8 April 1976. This was the date on which the European Court of Justice decided that pensions formed part of pay and that the provisions about equality between men and women applied to access to pension schemes in the public service. These provisions are identical to those applicable in Great Britain.

Undercover Agents

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will review the adequacy of the arrangements for the permanent protection of former undercover agents in the republican movement.

Shaun Woodward: I am satisfied there are adequate arrangements in place to counter the threat to individuals across a range of circumstances, including where individuals are suspected of providing assistant in confidence to the authorities.

Undercover Agents

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what provisions exist for the protection of current and former undercover agents in the Republican movement once exposed; and whether such protection was offered to Denis Donaldson.

Shaun Woodward: It is not Government policy to comment on specific national security and intelligence matters.

Vice Chancellor (University of Ulster)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost to public funds has been of the suspension of the previous Vice Chancellor of the University of Ulster since December 2004.

Angela Smith: The former Vice Chancellor, Professor McKenna, was at no time suspended from duty. The question of cost to public funds as a result of suspension does therefore not apply.

Visitor Attractions

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the change was in annual numbers recorded at each of the 10 most frequented visitor attractions in Northern Ireland over the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: The NITB conducts a voluntary annual survey designed to give an overview of the visitor numbers to the various attractions across Northern Ireland. Of the top 10 attractions participating in the 2005 survey, eight had previously participated in the 1995 survey. The results are presented in the following table.
	
		Top 10 participating tourist attractions visited, 2005
		
			   Visitor numbers 
			 Rank Attraction 2005 1995 Percentage change on 1995 
		
		
			 1 Crawfordsburn Country Park, Belfast(4) 850,921 — — 
			 2 Botanic Gardens, Belfast 700,000 600,000 +16.7 
			 3 Lagan Valley Regional Park(5) 500,000 — — 
			 4 Giants Causeway Visitor Centre 464,243 408,790 +13.6 
			 5 Cavehill Country Park, Belfast 383,900 410,000 -6.4 
			 6 Roe Valley Country Park, Limavady 317,431 120,000 +164.5 
			 7 Colin Glen Forest Park, Belfast 242,526 10,000 +2,325.3 
			 8 Oxford Island National Nature Reserve 234,925 143,300 +63.9 
			 9 Scrabo Country Park, Newtownards 225,000 200,000 +12.5 
			 10 Ulster Museum 212,073 319,534 -33.6 
		
	
	(4) Nearest survey return for Crawfordsburn Country Park to the year 1995 was in 1993, with 700,000 visitors.
	(5) 2005 is the first time that Lagan Valley Regional Park has participated in the survey.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Departmental Websites

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list (a) the websites operated by his Department and (b) the reports placed on the internet in March 2006, indicating in each case whether paper copies were also made available.

Charles Clarke: As of 21 April 2006, the Home Office operates 40 websites.
	The core Home Office website also has a number of sub-domains, such as police.homeoffice.gov.uk, which act as portal sites for practitioners around policy issues.
	After a major redevelopment in September 2005, which brought nine separate websites under the main Home Office domain, a plan is under way to consolidate all of our sites by March 2007.
	The Home Office does not keep a central record of all of the reports published on its websites. The information requested about numbers of reports published on the internet in March 2006—and also made available in paper copy—can therefore not be collected without incurring disproportionate cost.
	Sites:
	www.homeoffice.gov.uk
	www.commercial.homeoffice.gov.uk
	www.communities.homeoffice.gov.uk
	www.drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk
	www.police.homeoffice.gov.uk
	www.press.homeoffice.gov.uk
	www.scienceandresearch.homeoffice.gov.uk
	www.security.homeoffice.gov.uk
	www.snen.homeoffice.gov.uk
	www.inspectorates.homeoffice.gov.uk
	www.careers.homeoffice.gov.uk
	www.homeoffice.gov.uk/
	www.rdsnoms.homeoffice.gov.uk
	www.crimereduction.gov.uk
	www.crimestatistics.org.uk
	www.probation.homeoffice.gov.uk
	www.treatmenttheworks.comtogether.gov.uk
	www.respect.gov.uk
	www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk
	www.indmps.co.uk
	www.employingmigrantworkers.org.uk
	www.lifeintheuktest.gov.uk
	www.nirf.org.uk
	www.uknationality.gov.uk
	www.workingintheuk.gov.uk
	www.bicester-centre.co.uk
	www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk
	www.identitycards.gov.uk
	www.hmpenterprises.co.uk
	www.passport.gov.uk
	www.crb.gov.uk
	www.forensic.gov.uk
	www.secureyourmotor.gov.uk
	www.citizensday.org.uk
	www.connected.gov.uk
	www.good2besecure.co.uk
	www.identity-theft.org.uk
	www.thinkuknow.co.uk
	www.policecouldyou.co.uk
	www.policehighpotential.org.uk
	www.sharpendmag.com
	www.imb.gov.uk
	www.ipcc.gov.uk
	www.ipt-uk.com
	www.ppo.gov.uk
	www.bichard-inquiry.org.uk
	www.russellcommission.org
	www.zahidmubarekinquiry.org.uk

Grievance Procedures

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many grievance procedures have been initiated in his Department in each of the last three years.

Charles Clarke: The following table provides the available information about the number of grievances raised within the Department in the last three years.
	
		Number of grievances
		
			 Home Office (excluding immigration and nationality directorate)  
		
		
			 2004 (6)— 
			 2005 (6)— 
			 2006 (7)4 
			 Immigration and nationality directorate  
			 2004 (6)— 
			 2005 101 
			 2006 (7)12 
			   
			 Her Majesty's Prison Service  
			  (6)— 
			 Identity and passport services  
			 April 2003 to March 2004 4 
			 April 2004 to March 2005 3 
			 April 2005 to March 2006 3 
		
	
	(6) Comprehensive information is not available in the requested format and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
	(7) Have been raised to date.

Highly Skilled Migrant Programme

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether doctors with existing leave under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme will require work permits under the new arrangements.

Andy Burnham: Those with leave under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme are permitted to take employment or self-employment in the UK without requiring a work permit. Therefore doctors with existing leave under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme will not require work permits for the duration of this leave. However, they will need to meet other requirements such as registration with the GMC and those employing doctors on the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme need to follow Department of Health recruitment policies.

Offender Assessment System

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress in implementing the offender assessment system.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Offender Assessment System, OASys, has been implemented in all public sector prisons and all 42 areas of the national probation service. Full connectivity between the Prison Service and national probation service OASys systems was achieved in March 2006. Full access to OASys has recently been given to the contracted out prisons although not all have started using it yet.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prisoners involved in work activity are placed in prison workshops.

Fiona Mactaggart: In the public sector Prison Service, approximately 13 per cent. of all prisoners are employed in a prison industries workshop on a daily basis. This represents about one in five of all work places.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prisoners are involved in (a) work activity and (b) education or training.

Fiona Mactaggart: Data in the specific format requested in the question are not collected centrally. However, the number of prisoners undertaking each type of prisoner activity is provided as a proxy. Prisoners that take part more than one type of activity may be counted more than once. Therefore, the following number cannot be used to calculate a proportion.
	In 2005–06, 50,078 prisoners were recorded as undertaking work activities and 43,249 participated in education or training across the prison system.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of the number of hours of purposeful activity undertaken by each prisoner per week.

Fiona Mactaggart: Provisional data for 2005–06 show the average number of hours of purposeful activity for the prison system to be 25.2 hours per prisoner per week.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of prison capacity in England and Wales by 2010.

Fiona Mactaggart: There is no estimate of prison capacity for 2010. Current plans are to increase the total capacity of the prison estate to around 80,400 in 2007.

Prisons

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which companies provide telephone services for prisoners in each prison.

Fiona Mactaggart: Telecom services within the Prison Service are provided by British Telecommunications (BT) and Global Communications and Consultancy Ltd. (GCC). These companies provide telephone services throughout the prison estate with the exception of Ashfield and Lowdham Grange prisons. Telecommunication services for Ashfield are provided by Thus telecommunications and Lowdham Grange's service providers are Voice Products Ltd. and Your Communications.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his plans for continuity of provision of education and training for released prisoners.

Phil Hope: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government's plans for ensuring continuity of provision of learning and skills for released prisoners were set out in the Green Paper 'Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment', published in December 2005.
	No separate estimate has been made of the costs of bridging the gap between education inside and outside prisons. The new providers being appointed by the Learning and Skills Council are required contractually to deliver the requirements of the Offender's Learning Journey, the document that specifies the service to the offender. That document includes a requirement on the provider to join up learning commenced in custody with that available in the community. The costs of bridging that gap are straightforwardly part of the contract price.

Probation/Bail Hostel (West Midlands)

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library the letter of 23 June 1994 designating Sycamore Lodge, Langley, Oldbury West Midlands as an approved probation and bail hostel.

Fiona Mactaggart: I will arrange for a copy of the Home Office letter of 23 June 1994 to be laid in the Libraries of both Houses.

Witnesses

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many vulnerable witnesses in each of the pilot schemes have successfully used intermediaries provided for in the special measures for vulnerable witnesses of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: The available data are set out in the table.
	
		
			  Area  Intermediary scheme start date Number of witnesses assisted by an intermediary as at 21 April 2006(8) 
		
		
			 Merseyside 23 February 2004 27 
			
			 West Midlands 13 September 2004 (Wolverhampton area) 36 
			  1 November 2004 (all courts in West Midlands)  
			
			 Thames Valley 2 October 2004 85 
			
			 South Wales(9) 1 February 2005–6 February 2006 5 
			
			 Norfolk 1 February 2005 31 
			
			 Devon and Cornwall(10) 20 June 2005 11 
			
			 Total  195 
		
	
	(8) Data refer to the number of witnesses for whom the Office for Criminal Justice Reform has provided a registered intermediary where the intermediary has, or is expected to, carried out a communication needs analysis relating to the witness or has assisted them to understand questions or to make their answers understood during a criminal investigation or trial. In a small number of these cases the intermediary may not have actually carried out these functions.
	(9) Data refer only to pathfinder areas where notification of availability of the intermediary special measure has been made to courts in accordance with section 18(2) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. Intermediaries have also been appointed in other criminal justice areas—such cases are not included in these data.
	(10) Initial findings are that intermediaries are bringing considerable benefits to the criminal justice system by helping more vulnerable witnesses to give their best evidence and providing practitioners with more comprehensive information about witnesses to help guide their decisions.

World Cup

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British football hooligans are banned in each police authority from travelling to the World Cup.

Paul Goggins: As at 20 April 2006 there are 3,286 Football Banning Orders in place. Details of the police authority area in which the subjects reside is provided in the following table. Each of the individuals concerned will be required to report to a designated police station and surrender their passports 10 days prior to the opening match and on every England match day during the tournament.
	
		
			 Police authority area Individuals subject to a football banning order 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset Constabulary 52 
			 Bedfordshire Police 29 
			 Cambridgeshire Constabulary 35 
			 Cheshire Constabulary 32 
			 Cleveland Constabulary 104 
			 Cumbria Constabulary 31 
			 Derbyshire Constabulary 104 
			 Devon and Cornwall Constabulary 70 
			 Dorset Police 15 
			 Durham Constabulary 26 
			 Dyfed-Powys Police 3 
			 Essex Police 50 
			 Gloucestershire Constabulary 4 
			 Greater Manchester Police 247 
			 Gwent Constabulary 25 
			 Hampshire Constabulary 155 
			 Hertfordshire Constabulary 34 
			 Humberside Police 132 
			 Kent Constabulary 29 
			 Lancashire Constabulary 134 
			 Leicestershire Constabulary 43 
			 Lincolnshire Constabulary 51 
			 Merseyside Police 114 
			 Metropolitan Police 267 
			 Norfolk Constabulary 15 
			 North Wales Police 50 
			 North Yorkshire Police 28 
			 Northamptonshire Constabulary 10 
			 Northumbria Police 90 
			 Nottinghamshire Constabulary 94 
			 South Wales Police 130 
			 South Yorkshire Police 264 
			 Staffordshire Police 154 
			 Suffolk Constabulary 10 
			 Surrey Constabulary 17 
			 Sussex Police 25 
			 Thames Valley Police 60 
			 Warwickshire Constabulary 15 
			 West Mercia Constabulary 43 
			 West Midlands Police 290 
			 West Yorkshire Police 172 
			 Wiltshire Constabulary 33

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Nationals Abroad

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his statement of 21 March 2006, Official Report, column 157, on British nationals abroad, whether the future announcement to which he referred in his statement was that made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 22 March 2006, Official Report, column 298, announcing a new charitable fund to support British citizens injured in or affected by terrorist acts at home or abroad.

Kim Howells: No. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary had in mind the future announcement which the Department of Culture, Media and Sport will make once the Government have fully considered the matter.

Colombia

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of (a) the likely effects of the decision by the United States Administration to offer rewards for the capture of Colombian drug dealers and (b) the effectiveness of this policy in (i) tackling the drug trade and (ii) reducing the impact of the drug trade on Colombian politics and society.

Douglas Alexander: The Government are committed to tackling the trade in illicit drugs in Latin America. As such we work alongside the US and other partners to counter the activities of those involved in the drugs trade. The decision to adopt a policy of offering rewards is a matter for the US Administration and is just one of many measures taken by them to prevent the flow of drugs from Colombia.

EU Commission (Plan D Programme)

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution the Government (a) have made and (b) are planning to make to the European Commission's Plan D programme.

Douglas Alexander: The Government welcomes the principles behind the European Commission's Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate but insists that its implementation must be in co-operation with Member States and respect national circumstances. The Government welcomes ideas such as visits from Commissioners as part of the Plan D programme. Officials are in frequent touch with the Commission's Representation in London to co-ordinate events and activities and, in particular, work closely with them to make its Europe Direct project a success.
	The Government do not plan to make a direct financial contribution to the Commission's Plan D. The Commission will finance Plan D using funding from the budget line for the future of Europe debate.

EU Website

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Government plans to launch the website described in the UK's contribution to the EU's interim report on the national debates during the reflection period on the future of Europe; and how much the website will cost (a) to build and (b) to maintain.

Douglas Alexander: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) launched the new Britain in the EU section of the FCO website on 13 April 2006. The new site, which can be found at www.europe.gov.uk, will be both a valuable resource on UK EU policy and the debate on the future direction of the EU. A Future of Europe section will set out a range of opinions on the EU and invite people to contribute to the debate. The site has been developed with a budget of £43,974 in the 2004–05 financial year, and a budget allocation of £80,000 in the 2005–06 financial year. The 2006–07 budget for maintaining the site has not yet been finalised.

Europe Direct

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many calls have been made to Europe Direct in the UK to date; and how much has been spent on (a) setting up and (b) running the service.

Douglas Alexander: The Europe Direct information line is based in Brussels and run by the European Commission. According to information published by the Commission, the service handled 112,000 queries from all members of the public in 2005. The total number of queries from the UK was 12,004; this figure represents 7,270 calls, 3,897 e-mails and 837 web-assistance queries. The basic annual cost of the service across the whole of the EU is €2.3 million. Further information on the Commission's Europe Direct service can be found at:
	www.europa.eu.int/europedirect.

Europe Direct

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why the launch of the Europe Direct service was delayed for a year.

Douglas Alexander: In March 2005, the Government asked the European Commission to postpone the opening of Europe Direct Centres in this country, pending further work on their purpose and scope. In July 2005, having considered the project further, the Government confirmed to the Commission that the centres could go ahead with immediate effect. Based in Brussels, the EU-wide Europe Direct information line was launched in 2000.

Syria (Resolution 1559)

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his (a) US and (b) EU counterparts on Syrian compliance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 (2004); and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has discussed Syrian compliance with his US and EU counterparts on a regular basis since the UN Security Council adopted UN Security Council Resolution 1559 on 19 October 2004. He last discussed Syria and Lebanon with EU colleagues at the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 20 March and with his US counterpart on 3 April.

Syria (Resolution 1559)

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of Syrian compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 (2004); and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The UN Security Council agreed a presidential statement on 23 January, which noted that several provisions of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1559 had yet to be implemented, in particular the disbanding and disarming of militias and free and fair Lebanese presidential elections. The full text of the statement can be found on the UN website at: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/218/09/PDF/N0621809,pdf?OpenElement.
	This Government continue to support the full implementation of UNSCR 1559.
	While the UN has confirmed that Syria has withdrawn its troops from Lebanon, Syria has yet to establish diplomatic relations with Lebanon or to demarcate its border with Lebanon. Syria also has a role to play in stopping arms transfers to Lebanese-based militias, including Hizballah.
	The UK stands ready to assist the Lebanese government to implement the outstanding provisions of UNSCR 1559.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Apprenticeships

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment she has made of the young modern apprenticeship programme; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) leads on the delivery of the Young Apprenticeship Programme and has put in place a comprehensive national evaluation strategy, supported by the sector skills councils involved. Ofsted is also monitoring the programme. The LSC plans to issue a formal report by early 2007. Interim feedback is positive, and Ofsted has confirmed that the programme has made a positive start and is popular with pupils.

Apprenticeships

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to promote apprenticeships among young people.

Phil Hope: The Department and its key partners such as the LSC and Connexions are very active in promoting apprenticeships to young people. The evidence is compelling, with a quarter of a million young people currently participating, the highest number ever. We pay particular attention to ensuring equal opportunities for all young people. We are also strongly committed to promoting the quality of the Apprenticeship Programme which is celebrated at the annual Apprenticeship Awards.

Community Learning

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what provision is being made for adult learning in the community in 2006–07.

Phil Hope: We have allocated £210 million of taxpayers money in 2006–07 to support learning for personal and community development. This includes help for family learning, for example, to improve people's literacy and numeracy and for learning in deprived communities.

Head Teacher Vacancies

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many head teacher vacancies there are in England; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: The first release of school workforce statistical information published this morning indicates that in January 2006, there were 180 head teacher vacancies in local authority maintained schools in England—a vacancy rate of 0.8 per cent. This confirms the current trend for low and stable vacancy rates since 1997.
	Figures out today also show that the vacancy rate for deputy and assistant head teachers are also low. Down to 0.7 per cent. in 2006 from 1.2 per cent. in 1997.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the Secretary of State expects to answer the letter of 21 February from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, about Mr. J. Horluck, transferred from the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Maria Eagle: I responded to my right hon. Friend on 18 April.

Correspondence

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she will provide substantive replies to the letters of (a) 9 December, (b) 12 January and (c) 21 February on an NSPCC campaign from the hon. Member for Isle of Wight.

Maria Eagle: holding answer 18 April 2006
	I responded to the hon. Member on 19 April.

Early-years Education

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many families in Nottinghamshire claimed free nursery education funding in (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06.

Beverley Hughes: The information is not collected in the form requested.
	Since April 2004 all three and four year olds have been entitled to a free, good quality, part-time early education place. The free entitlement consists of a minimum of 12. 5 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year and will be extended to 15 hours a week by 2010. By that time, parents who wish to do so will also be able to access the free entitlement flexibly across a minimum of three days.
	Some local authorities may additionally offer subsidised childcare places but this information is not collected centrally.
	Figures for January 2005 show that all four year old children receive some form of free entitlement. The figure for three year olds is 96 per cent. This covers all maintained, private, voluntary and independent providers and represents 535,100 three year olds and 568,300 four year olds. Provisional figures for January 2006 will be published in Statistical First Release 17/2006 "Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2005 (provisional)" at 9:30 am on 27 April 2006, which will be made available on my Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
	The available information on the number of free nursery education places taken up by three and four year olds in Nottinghamshire local authority area is shown in the table. Sub-national figures for 2006 will be published in a Statistical First Release in August 2006.
	The latest figures on early education places for three and four year olds in England were published in Statistical First Release 43/2005 "Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2005 (final)" in September, which is available on my Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
	
		Number of free nursery education places(11) taken up by three and four year olds—Local authority Nottinghamshire
		
			  Three year olds Four year olds 
			 Position in January Maintained nursery and primary schools(12) Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers Total three year olds maintained nursery and primary schools(13) other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers Total four year olds 
		
		
			 2005 3,900 (14)2,900 6,800 6,300 (15)1.500 7,700 
		
	
	(11) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 or 100 as appropriate.
	(12) Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(13) Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(14) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(15) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.

Special Needs Tribunals

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what recent estimate she has made of the average cost of special needs tribunal hearings to (a) parents and (b) local education authorities;
	(2)  if she will take steps to reduce the cost of special needs tribunals to parents.

Maria Eagle: No charge is made to parents who bring cases before the special educational needs and disability tribunal and certain necessary expenses are met by the tribunal.
	Neither the Department nor the tribunal have made an estimate of the average cost of tribunal hearings to the respective parties.

Foreign Students

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many students from Iran have enrolled at universities in the UK in each year since 1997; and which subjects they have studied;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2006, Official Report, column 1232W, on foreign students, what subjects were being studied by the 1,750 Iranian students attending universities in 2004–05; and how many were studying each subject.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 24 April 2006
	The latest information is given in the following tables. In respect of subjects relevant to weapons of mass destruction counter proliferation concern, the student voluntary vetting scheme has been in operation since 1994. Its guiding principle is to prevent academic contact and access to postgraduate studies that might be of significant value to countries of WMD proliferation concern.
	
		Students(16) from Iran studying at higher education institutions in the UK by subject of study(17)
		
			 Subject of study: 1997/98 1998/99 1999/2000 2000/01 2001/02 
		
		
			 Medicine and Dentistry 45 60 65 50 55 
			 Subjects allied to Medicine 30 25 35 45 60 
			 Biological Sciences 55 65 75 75 85 
			 Veterinary Science — — 0 — — 
			 Agriculture and related subjects 40 30 30 25 20 
			 Physical Sciences 40 45 50 45 40 
			 Mathematical Sciences 25 25 20 15 15 
			 Computer Science 25 30 30 40 60 
			 Engineering and Technology 185 165 170 175 185 
			 Architecture, Building and Planning 20 20 20 20 20 
			 Social, Economic and Political Studies 35 40 35 30 35 
			 Law 15 5 10 10 15 
			 Business and Administrative Studies 50 30 30 35 75 
			 Librarianship and Information Science 5 0 — 5 5 
			 Languages 25 25 25 25 45 
			 Humanities 10 10 10 10 15 
			 Creative arts and design 10 10 10 25 20 
			 Education 10 10 35 20 25 
			 Combined 15 20 35 35 35 
			 Total 640 620 685 690 805 
		
	
	
		
			 Subject of study: 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2004/05(16) 
		
		
			 Medicine and dentistry 55 60 65 85 
			 Subjects allied to medicine 70 80 75 95 
			 Biological sciences 75 90 70 100 
			 Veterinary science — — 5 5 
			 Agriculture and related subjects 15 10 15 20 
			 Physical sciences 40 55 65 75 
			 Mathematical sciences 15 20 30 35 
			 Computer science 90 140 170 190 
			 Engineering and technology 225 310 350 445 
			 Architecture, building and planning 30 50 80 90 
			 Social studies 35 45 55 75 
			 Law 20 20 25 40 
			 Business and administrative studies 65 95 165 200 
			 Mass communications and documentation 5 10 15 15 
			 Languages 40 60 75 110 
			 Historical and philosophical studies 10 20 25 30 
			 Creative arts and design 30 35 50 60 
			 Education 20 35 45 70 
			 Combined 15 10 15 15 
			 Total 860 1,145 1,395 1,750 
		
	
	(16) Covers postgraduate and undergraduate students. The figures are based on a snapshot count of students who were in attendance on 1 December in each year. The figure of 1,750 in the earlier answer (43079) was based on a whole year count of students, which counts students who were in attendance at any point in the academic year. It is not possible to give a time series back to 1997/98 using the whole year count for all years, so the snapshot count has been used for consistency. An additional column has been added to the table to show students split by subject in 2004/05 using the whole year count.
	(17) In 2002/03, a new subject classification, and a new method of allocating students to subjects, were introduced, which means that the figures for the years up to 2001/02 are not directly comparable with those for later years. The new allocation method takes account of all subjects studied by the student rather than just their main subject, and the main effect of this is to decrease the number of students who are allocated to the "combined" category, and increase the number of students who are allocated to specific named subjects.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5 so components may not sum to totals.

Learning and Skills Council

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the estimated cost is of potential redundancies resulting from the current restructuring of the Learning and Skills Council in (a) direct payments to individuals and (b) additional payments into the Principal Civil Service Pension scheme.

Bill Rammell: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is planning to introduce a radical new structure which will enable it to operate more effectively at all levels. As a result of these changes, it is expected that around 1,100 fewer posts will be needed once the new structure is in place. It is estimated that up to £40 million will be saved in management and running costs, which could be redirected to support front-line services.
	The LSC is currently in the process of consulting staff and making appointments to posts in the new structure. The final number of staff who leave the LSC as a result of the restructuring will depend to a significant degree on individual circumstances. The LSC is looking for every opportunity to redeploy staff to other suitable positions and has expressed its commitment to maximise the appointments of existing employees and to minimise compulsory redundancies.
	The cost of potential redundancies resulting from the restructuring of the LSC depends upon the individual circumstances of each person affected. The current estimate is that the cost of redundancies will be around £32 million.

Prison Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to change the process whereby contracting arrangements in prisons education and vocational training are organised separately.

Phil Hope: Separate arrangements for delivering education and vocational training in prisons come to an end as the Learning and Skills Council becomes responsible for planning and funding offender learning. Education and vocational training is already joined up in the North East, North West and South West, and will become so across England from 31 July 2006.

Prison Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if she will provide the Learning and Skills Council with the necessary resources to apply its standard funding methodology so that prisons have access to all of the funding streams available to mainstream colleges;
	(2)  if she will ensure that the additional learning support funding approach is applied to prison education.

Phil Hope: The Learning and Skills Council is developing a funding methodology for offender learning that aims to replicate as closely as possible that in use for mainstream provision whilst taking into account the costs differences within prisons. The new funding arrangements will ensure that proper regard is paid to the additional learning support needs of offenders, and the Learning and Skills Council will be expected to fund offender learning from within its main Grant from the Department.

Prison Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funds she is providing to ensure that the specialist role of teaching staff in prisons is properly rewarded.

Phil Hope: There are no separately identifiable funds transferring to the Learning and Skills Council to reward the specialist role of teaching staff in prisons. However, as the Green Paper "Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment" noted, there are issues to be addressed concerning the offender learning work force. The full engagement of the Learning and Skills Council in offender learning, with the introduction of new providers delivering a new joined-up service is expected to have a significant impact on all aspects of the employment conditions of staff who deliver learning to prisoners integrating it with those of their mainstream colleagues.

Prison Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of prisoners in 2005 had access to prison education at any one time.

Phil Hope: All prisoners had access to education in 2005, although not all took up that opportunity.

Prison Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of prison education inspected by the Adult Learning Inspectorate in 2005 was judged to be inadequate.

Phil Hope: The proportion of prison education judged to be inadequate by the Adult Learning Inspectorate in 2004–05, as reported in the Annual Report of the Chief Inspector 2004–05 is 55 per cent. The proportion of prison education judged as inadequate on reinspection over the same period is given as 33 per cent.

Prison Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of prisoners have access to the internet as part of their education or training (a) daily and (b) weekly.

Phil Hope: This information is not collected centrally.
	For security reasons prisons have been cautious about opening up access to e-learning facilities, but the government are keen to make more progress in this area. We are actively investigating ways of providing secure access for prisoners who need it to support their learning activities.

Prison Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding was allocated to vocational education provision in prisons in 2005–06; what funding has been allocated for 2006–07; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Hope: Funding for vocational training in prisons in 2005–06 was £8.8 million and is planned to be £8.8 million for 2006–07.
	The new LSC-led delivery arrangements aim explicitly to join up the provision of 'education' and Vocational training in prisons, introducing a seamless service that meets holistically the offender's assessed individual learning needs. In many cases, "Skills for Life" will be embedded in work related learning. In this second year of transition from the old arrangements to the new it is possible to identify separately the funding for vocational training, but that is unlikely to be possible for future years.

Prison Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she has taken to ensure that closer links are forged between prisons and further education colleges, universities and employers.

Phil Hope: The new arrangements for Offenders Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) ensures that better links are forged between prisons, further education colleges, universities and employers. OLASS'S approach involves development of different ways of working through new relationships with providers. Regional Partnership Boards provide governance to OLASS and these include representatives from all key stakeholders.
	Additionally, we have announced in the December 2005 Green Paper "Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment" our intention to consult on piloting on a new model for delivery—the "Offender Learning Campus"—to develop new centres of excellence and better links with mainstream education and training, including higher education.

Prison Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will undertake a review of the different charities working in the prison education sector with a view to identifying the most successful for national recognition, funding and support.

Fiona Mactaggart: I have been asked to reply.
	A recent survey was conducted by the Voluntary Sector Unit of the National Offender Management Unit. This did not focus specifically on organisations engaged in delivering education but these were included among those delivering employment, training and education (ETE). This shows that as of February 2006 there were 583 organisations delivering ETE across the prison and probation services, of which 450 were working with prisons.
	Most of these organisations are small and work at a very local level. Funding is already provided to a number of organisations through grants and contracts and it is anticipated that the introduction of full commissioning in NOMS will increase the range of opportunities available to the voluntary and community sector. There are already established recognition schemes such as the Butler Trust which has included awards to organisations providing education services to prisons.

Prison Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many juvenile prison establishments meet the Youth Justice Board target of 30 hours per week in education and training.

Fiona Mactaggart: I have been asked to reply.
	The Youth Justice Board (YJB) set the young people's secure estate a national average of 25 hours a week education and training provision, rising to 30 when resources become available. Between April 2005 and March 2006, eight young offender institutions (YOI) met the national average and eight did not.
	In the 2005–08 service level agreement between the YJB and the Prison Service, each YOI was set an agreed target for the provision of education and training. Between April 2005 and March 2006, five YOIs met their individual target and 11 did not.

Prison Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the expenditure per head on education in juvenile young offender institutions was in (a) 2001–02, (b) 2002–03, (c) 2003–04, (d) 2004–05 and (e) 2005–06; and what the planned figure is for 2006–07.

Phil Hope: The expenditure per head on education in juvenile young offender institutions is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Expenditure per head (£) 
		
		
			 2003–04 6,363 
			 2004–05 7,272 
			 2005–06 8,181 
		
	
	Expenditure in 2001–02 and 2002–03 is not available.
	The Department for Education and Skills budget transfer to the Youth Justice Board for 2006–07 has not yet been finally agreed: an estimate of planned expenditure per head on education in juvenile young offender institutions for 2006–07 is not yet available.

Prison Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what progress has been made in delivering on the commitment to implement a system of individual learning plans for prisoners linked to sentence plans;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on progress on introducing a learner-centred system of prison education.

Phil Hope: The Learning and Skills Council took responsibility for offenders' learning and skills in three development regions (North West, North East and South West) from 1 August 2005, as part of the new Offenders Learning and Skills Service (OLASS). These arrangements will be put in place in the remaining six English regions from 31 July 2006. Under the new Offenders Learning and Skills Service planned and funded by the LSC, contracted providers will be required to assess individual learners' needs, develop a learning plan, and provide the tailored support which addresses these needs.

Prison Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research has been undertaken by her Department to identify what type of education and training provision will have the greatest impact on meeting the individual learning needs of prisoners and providing them with real alternatives to crime on release.

Phil Hope: We recently commissioned a systematic review of the empirical evidence into interventions that promote employment for offenders last year. This showed that employment focused interventions, such as vocational training, can make a significant difference to the employment rates of offenders.

Prison Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding would be necessary for the Learning and Skills Council to bridge the gap between education inside and outside prisons; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The Government's plans for ensuring continuity of provision of learning and skills for released prisoners were set out in the Green Paper 'Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment', published in December 2005.
	No separate estimate has been made of the costs of bridging the gap between education inside and outside prisons. The new providers being appointed by the Learning and Skills Council are required contractually to deliver the requirements of the Offender's Learning Journey, the document that specifies the service to the offender. That document includes a requirement on the provider to join up learning commenced in custody with that available in the community. The costs of bridging that gap are straightforwardly part of the contract price.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Persistent Offenders

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Solicitor-General how persistent and prolific offenders are treated differently from other offenders by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Mike O'Brien: Persistent and prolific offenders receive a 'Premium Service' from the CPS and other Criminal Justice agencies. CPS prosecutors work with the courts to give these cases priority, and review the progress of these cases with local police crime managers. When presenting these cases CPS prosecutors ensure the full extent of the criminal activity is brought to the attention of the court.

Fraud Review

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to the written statement of 22 March 2006, Official Report, column 26WS, on the fraud review, what representations he has received on the interim report on fraud.

Mike O'Brien: The interim report of the Fraud Review was published on 22 March. Since then the Fraud Review team have received representations from the Association of Payment and Clearance Services (APACS) and the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
	My right hon. Friend the Attorney-General has also held a seminar involving representatives of the public sector, the legal professions and the private sector to discuss the report's emerging findings.

Victims of Crime

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps the Government are taking to ensure victims of crime are kept informed of the progress of prosecutions of defendants accused of crimes against them.

Mike O'Brien: In England and Wales, joint CPS/police witness care units must notify victims of all court hearings in their cases and if convicted any sentence received. The Prosecutor's Pledge provides that a prosecutor should inform a victim where a charge is dropped or substantially altered and, where practical, seek the views of the victim when considering the acceptability of a plea.
	In Northern Ireland, the victim is notified in all cases when a decision has been made and what that decision is and given contact details from which further information may be obtained. A dedicated section of specially trained staff provide an information line to assist with any queries a victim may have, and, if the victim requests will refer them to specialist support agencies, such as Victim Support. In all regions, PPSNI work closely with police Family Liaison Officers.

Crown Prosecution Service

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General what action can be taken against those responsible in cases where the Crown Prosecution Service makes a mistake in not laying charges within a given time period.

Mike O'Brien: The Code for Crown Prosecutors gives guidance on the general principles to be applied when making decisions about prosecutions. In addition, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has a code of conduct, job descriptions and person specifications so that managers and staff know what is expected of them.
	In the event of an apparent failure to deliver to the necessary standard, it is for line management to identify the causes and to take action, whether on grounds of capability or conduct, using the appropriate employment procedures.

Ministerial Meetings

Richard Burden: To ask the Solicitor-General what plans the Attorney-General has to meet the family of (a) Tom Hurndall and (b) James Miller.

Mike O'Brien: The Attorney-General has agreed to meet with the families of Tom Hurndall and James Miller on Friday 5 May 2006.

Police Forces (Reorganisation)

Peter Bone: To ask the Solicitor-General what assessment he has made of the potential impact on the Crown Prosecution Service of the proposed reorganisation of police forces.

Mike O'Brien: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will seek to reorganise on a similar basis to the police. Organisational alignments are proving successful on the current boundaries and the CPS would seek to maintain their relationship.

DEFENCE

A400M

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent to date on the A400M future large aircraft; and when it is likely to enter service.

Adam Ingram: The amount spent to date for the A400M programme at the end of March 2006 was £199 million and the In Service Date (defined as acceptance into service of the 7th aircraft) is 2011.

Afghanistan

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of support by the Pakistan government for insurgents in Helmand province in Afghanistan.

John Reid: The Government have no credible evidence of direct support by the Pakistani Government to insurgents in Helmand province. President Musharraf has made extensive efforts to improve the rule of law in border areas, and we continue to work with Pakistan to ensure that appropriate action is taken to prevent the border area from providing a safe haven for enemy forces.

African Union

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will increase the number of British military advisors to the African Union; and if he will help with strategic transport, including helicopters, in Sudan.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is making an important and proportionate contribution in support of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). We are providing one staff officer adviser to the Joint Logistics Operations Centre in El Fashir, and will deploy a second officer to the Joint Operations Centre (JOC) when it is established; both under an European Union umbrella. UK personnel have also deployed from within the NATO Command Structure to help co-ordinate the lift of national contingents, as liaison staff at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa and to provide capacity building training for AMIS staff. Further NATO-hatted UK staffs are likely to be deployed in the event that the AU requests additional NATO support. In addition, one UK officer is currently attached to the UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations to help develop UN plans for Darfur. He may likewise deploy to the JOC in an advisory capacity.
	The requirement for helicopters has, to date, been met by Canada, while HMG has made a substantial contribution to strategic lift through payment for the movement of three Nigerian battalions. Any further requests from the AU for additional support will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Aircraft

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the timescale is for the (a) Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft and (b) Nimrod MRA4 programmes; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The timescales for these projects will not be set until they have received Main Gate approval.

BAE Systems

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department provided a Crown guarantee to the BAE Systems pension scheme.

Don Touhig: I can confirm that the Ministry of Defence has not given a Crown guarantee to the BAE Systems pension scheme.

Combined Cadet Force

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in implementing the plans announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in February 2006 to create branches of the Combined Cadet Force in state schools.

Don Touhig: There continues to be discussions between the Ministry of Defence and officials at the Department for Education and Skills and the Treasury to ensure the opportunities offered by the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) will be available to the widest possible audience. Progress continues to be made along the lines outlined to the House on 27 March 2006, Official Report, column 532.
	In addition, the list of candidate schools continues to be developed with the assistance of officials at the Department for Education and Skills.

Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centres

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received about the Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centres; what response he has made; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: No representations (as distinct from questions) are known to have been made directly to the Ministry of Defence, but to say this with certainty would require a trawl throughout MOD records which could be undertaken only at disproportionate costs.

Diplomatic Contacts

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions British Embassy staff in Washington have had with members of the US Congress on defence technology and related matters in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: British embassy staff in Washington DC regularly meet with members of the US Congress and their professional staff in a wide variety of fora, both formal and informal. Their discussions range across the full spectrum of issues of bilateral interest, including discussions about defence technology and related matters.

Eurofighter Typhoon

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Typhoon aircraft have been delivered to the RAF; how many are currently unserviceable; and if he will list the length of time for which each unserviceable Typhoon aircraft has been in that condition.

Adam Ingram: 26 Typhoon aircraft have been delivered to the RAF to date. In common with all aircraft types, the availability of Typhoon varies from day-to-day to take into account planned maintenance and issues arising during flying sorties. As an example, on 25 April 2006 two of the 26 aircraft were out of service as part of a pre-planned retrofit programme being conducted at BAES Warton (seven and 77 days), and one aircraft was undergoing routine technical maintenance (14 days) for which a near-term solution is in prospect. A further three aircraft were awaiting longer-term logistic support solutions that are being addressed as the fleet grows incrementally (30 days, 57 days and 12 months). Finally, one aircraft is awaiting repair following a controlled emergency landing in January 2006.

Ex-Servicemen

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of surviving ex-servicemen who served at any stage during 1939–1945.

Don Touhig: We do not keep statistics on the total numbers of surviving ex-servicemen who served during 1939 to 1945 and we have not made an estimate. We estimate that there are some 70,000 war pensions in payment to those whose injuries or illnesses relate to their service in world war II though the total number of survivors will be very much larger than this.

Helicopters

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Navy (a) Sea King, (b) Merlin and (c) Lynx helicopters are (i) in service and (ii) fit for purpose.

Adam Ingram: The latest information records the number of Royal Navy helicopters in service and fit for purpose as:
	
		
			  In service Fit for purpose 
		
		
			 Sea King (Mk 4, Mk 5, MK 7) 51 27 
			 Merlin (Mk 1) 24 11 
			 Lynx (Mk 3, Mk 8) 47 23 
		
	
	In service aircraft are those located at front line and training units. "Fit for Purpose" describes an aircraft that is available, reliable, airworthy and capable of carrying out its planned mission on a given date. The numbers of fit for purpose aircraft can vary, depending on operational requirements.

Helicopters

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the underlying cause was of the action for which his Department received damages from Textron Lycoming in respect of damage caused to an RAF Chinook HC Mk1 aircraft during development testing of a pre-production Full Authority Digital Electronic Control system; and whether this underlying cause was removed from the system fitted to Chinook HC2 ZD576.

Adam Ingram: It is not immediately possible to provide the information requested and archive records will need to be researched. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as further information is available.

Helicopters

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the differences to the FADEC system between the pre-production system and the system installed in Chinook HC2 ZD576.

Adam Ingram: It is not immediately possible to list the differences to the FADEC system between the pre-production system and the system installed in Chinook HC2 ZD576. No records exist in the MOD. The original equipment manufacturer, Honeywell, have been asked to supply the information. I will write to the right hon. Member when the information is available.

Helicopters

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what evidence he has received to discount an uncommanded flying control movement of 12 degree nose down pitch by RAF Chinook ZD576 prior to impact into the Mull.

Adam Ingram: There is no factual evidence to either support or discount an uncommanded flying control movement of 12 degree nose pitch down by RAF Chinook ZD576 prior to impact into the Mull of Kintyre. There is, however, the physical evidence at the crash site and wreckage characteristics which indicate that the aircraft first impacted the hillside while climbing at relatively high forward ground speed in an erect, steeply nose up attitude. The evidence for this is the alignment of the aircraft controls. The collective control, which controls power was set at or near full travel at impact, with the cyclic control, which controls pitch or elevation, at 25 per cent. aft and 23 per cent. left of neutral, all indicating a demand for high power and nose-up attitude prior to impact.

Helicopters

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the minimum height is at which autorotation is considered safe for a Chinook HC2; and whether this figure differs from the safe autorotation height for a Chinook with a weight limitation of 18,000 kg.

Adam Ingram: Autorotation is defined as the unpowered rotation of helicopter rotor blades that may occur during engine failure, thereby allowing the aircraft to effectively 'glide' to a safe landing. The minimum height at which autorotation is considered safe for a Chinook HC2 is 100 ft above ground level. Weight has no significant impact on autorotation flight performance. However, practice autorotations for Chinooks are not allowed to be carried out above the regulatory maximum weight of 20,000 kg.

HMS Gannet

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future use of the helicopter search and rescue service HMS Gannet.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence provides a 24-hour search and rescue (SAR) service at HMS Gannet. The MOD and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) are currently assessing options for the provision of a replacement UK SAR service when the existing helicopters, including those at Gannet, come to the end of their useful lives around the middle of the next decade. An announcement setting out further details on the way ahead will be made in due course.

Human Centrifuge

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to replace the human centrifuge operated by QinetiQ at Farnborough when its scheduled out of service date is reached in 2008.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is committed to ensuring that the United Kingdom has ongoing access to the required capability and will be reviewing its options prior to 2008 when the human centrifuge at Farnborough reaches its out of service date.
	However, the centrifuge is currently owned and operated by QinetiQ. All questions regarding the current facility should be referred to:
	The Chief Executive
	QinetiQ Limited
	Cody Technology Park
	Al Building
	Ively Road
	Farnborough
	Hampshire
	GU14 0LX

Iraq

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) serious injuries and (b) fatalities have been sustained by members of the Iraq security forces since March 2003.

John Reid: This is a matter for the Iraqi Government.

Iraq

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the capacity of the Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein to have produced a dirty bomb; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: In 1987 the Iraqi regime carried out tests to assess the capability of disseminating radioactive material in bombs dropped from aircraft for use possibly as a radiological device (dirty bomb). The project was abandoned and there is no evidence of any subsequent attempts to develop radiological devices.

Iraq

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether all British service personnel injured in Iraq are being screened for the possibility of a traumatic brain injury.

John Reid: All service patients who are injured in Iraq and who have symptoms and signs of brain injury are treated appropriately. However, personnel are not automatically screened for brain injury, as screening patients whose injury would have no impact on their brain function (e.g. a sprained ankle) would be clinically inappropriate.

Joint Strike Fighter

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has had discussions with his US counterparts on software source code access in relation to the Joint Strike Fighter; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 30 March 2006, Official Report, column 1154W to my hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Mr. Jones). Regular discussions take place at all levels with the US Administration on all aspects of the joint strike fighter programme. I can assure my hon. Friend that the UK has identified in detail the specific aspects of the Government-to-Government technology transfers that are necessary to ensure operational sovereignty of the Joint Strike Fighter when operated by the RAF and RN. HMG has been similarly clear regarding the absolute necessity of receiving this information.

Joint Strike Fighter

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the UK has the capability to develop a new weapon for the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft separately from the USA; and whether this would be possible without the software access code.

Adam Ingram: The ability to upgrade our Joint Strike Fighters through life to meet the needs of our armed forces is an important part of ensuring operational sovereignty in their use. We have made it clear to the United States that to proceed with the purchase of the aircraft we require access to the information necessary for operational sovereignty, and we remain optimistic that this will be achieved.

Campaign Medals

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list campaigns since 1945 for which Naval General Service Medals and/or clasp have been awarded for which the qualifying period would be fulfilled by (a) an aggregated and (b) a continuous period of service in theatre.

Don Touhig: Since 1945 there have been a total of 12 campaigns for which the Naval General Service Medal and/or clasp have been awarded.
	The following campaigns required aggregated service.
	
		
			 Campaign Number of qualifying days From To 
		
		
			 South East Asia 28 3 September 1945 30 November 1946 
			 Minesweeping 180 3 September 1945 30 September 1951 
			 Bomb and Mine Clearance 180 3 September 1945 30 September 1953 
			 Cyprus 120 1 April 1955 18 April 1959 
			 Bomb and Mine Clearance Mediterranean Clasp 180 1 January 1955 31 December 1960 
			 Arabian Peninsula 30 1 January 1957 30 June 1960 
		
	
	The following campaigns required continuous service.
	
		
			 Campaign Number of qualifying days From To 
		
		
			 Palestine 28 afloat 27 September 1945 30 June 1948 
			 Yangtze 1   
			 HMS Consort  20 April 1949 20 April 1949 
			 HMS London  21 April 1949 21 April 1949 
			 HMS Black Swan  21 April 1949 21 April 1949 
			 HMS Amethyst  21 April 1949 31 July 1949 
			 Malaya 28 afloat, 1 ashore 16 June 1948 31 July 1960 
			 Suez 30 16 October 1951 19 October 1954 
			 Near East 1 31 October 1956 22 December 1956 
			 Brunei 1 8 December 1962 23 December 1962

Campaign Medals

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason no naval representative was included on Lord Guthrie's sub-committee on the award of service medals and clasps in respect of the Canal Zone.

Don Touhig: The range of expertise encompassed by the membership of the sub-Committee of the Committee on the Grant of Honours Decorations and Medals, which was established in November 2002 to discuss the case for a medal for service in the Suez Canal Zone between 1951 and 1954, was extensive and comprehensive. The Chairman was a former Chief of the Defence Staff and as such represented all three Services.

Campaign Medals

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Lord Guthrie's sub-committee on the awarding of medals and clasps for service in the Canal Zone referred to a requirement that the qualifying 30-day period for naval personnel had to be continuous.

Don Touhig: The eligibility criteria for the awarding of medals and clasps for service in the Canal Zone reflect the discussions of Lord Guthrie's sub-committee of the Committee on the Grant of Honours Decorations and Medals, which deliberated the matter in November 2002. This includes the requirement that the qualifying 30-day period for the medal had to be continuous rather than aggregated service.

Mental Health Services

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) charities and (b) other organisations receive funding from his Department for the treatment of veterans with mental health conditions; and how much each received in each of the past five years.

Don Touhig: In relation to income received by the Ex-Services Mental Welfare Society ("Combat Stress") by way of expenses defrayed under article 26 of the Naval, Military and Air Forces Etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 1983, I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 9 March 2006, Official Report, column 1191W, to the hon. Member for Putney (Ms Greening). Costs may be defrayed under article 26 in respect of other veterans with mental health conditions and in relation to other providers of treatment, but such expenditure is not separately identifiable.
	In addition the Ministry of Defence also provides grant-in-aid for the Royal Hospital Chelsea, which provides a range of services, including some mental health care, to elderly veterans. However it is not possible to break this down to separate out costs for treatment.

Missile Defence

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2006, Official Report, column 1154W, on missile defence, what the conclusions were of the NATO Feasibility Study into options for Alliance missile defence.

John Reid: The NATO Missile Defence Feasibility Study is classified and the disclosure of its conclusions would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of UK armed forces or our Allies. A number of options are considered in the study, based on a range of assumptions and the expected performance of potential Alliance missile defence capabilities. NATO will now review those assumptions and decide how to take the work forward.

Nuclear Testing

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the risks associated with the use of DDT in nuclear testing conducted by his Department.

Don Touhig: The UK atmospheric nuclear tests took place in areas with high levels of tropical insect pests which presented a risk to health. To minimise this, aerial spraying of DDT was carried out. There is no reliable evidence that DDT causes adverse health effects in man and the Ministry of Defence has not undertaken any specific assessment of the risks associated with the use of DDT in nuclear testing.

Nuclear Testing

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made by his Department of the long-term effect on (a) servicemen and (b) their offspring of exposure to radiation in connection with nuclear testing on Christmas Island in 1958.

Don Touhig: In 1983, the Ministry of Defence commissioned from the National Radiological Protection Board and Imperial Cancer Research Fund an independent epidemiological study of participants of the UK atmospheric nuclear tests, including those present at the 1958 Christmas Island tests. The study compared a representative group of over 20,000 participants with a control group of men who did not take part in the tests but were otherwise similar. Analyses of mortality and cancer incidence in the groups have been published in the peer-reviewed mainstream medical literature in 1988, 1993 and 2003. These studies showed that overall mortality and cancer incidence was similar both in the participant and control groups and lower than the UK national rate, The 1988 study suggested a slightly raised level of multiple myeloma in participants compared with controls. However, this was not confirmed in the 1993 and 2003 reports and is likely to have been due to chance. There does appear, from all three studies, to be a small increased risk of leukaemias in test participants, apart from chronic lymphatic leukaemia, especially in the early years after the test. The MOD has not formally assessed the health of offspring of UK atmospheric nuclear test participants and is unaware of any such studies in the international published peer-reviewed medical or scientific literature.

Nuclear Weapons

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to debate studies into the costs of replacement of Trident.

John Reid: The issue of the possible replacement of Trident has been raised on numerous occasions in the House of Commons, most recently during Defence questions on 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 15. I have also discussed this issue with the House of Commons Defence Committee on 1 November 2005.
	This work is at an extremely early stage and Ministers have not yet engaged in the process in any detail, nor have they made any decisions. There will therefore be many further opportunities for Members of Parliament to debate this issue, but it is too early to speculate on the possible costs of any replacement programme.

Official Travel

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of flights out of RAF Northolt was accounted for by (a) Ministers and (b) officials in each of the last three years.

Don Touhig: In 2005, 11.7 per cent. of 32 (The Royal) Squadron flights out of RAF Northolt carried Ministers.
	The number of 32 (The Royal) Squadron flights out of RAF Northolt that carried officials is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Pension Schemes

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those companies to which his Department has given a Crown guarantee in relation to their pension schemes.

Don Touhig: I can advise that the Ministry of Defence has not given a Crown guarantee to any companies in relation to their pension schemes.

Queen's Flight

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provision he makes for airport landing charges in the fees charged to other Government Departments for use of the Queen's Flight.

Adam Ingram: Other Government Departments are charged an hourly rate for use of 32 (The Royal) Squadron aircraft. This hourly rate includes an element covering handling and landing charges.

Queen's Flight

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what adjustment he has made to the price charged to other Government Departments for the use of the Queen's Flight as a result of recent increases in fuel costs.

Adam Ingram: The charges to other Government Departments for use of 32 (The Royal) Squadron aircraft are kept under regular review. The review earlier this month confirmed that existing charges (introduced in August 2005) remain appropriate.

RAF Aircraft Servicing

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times RAF (a) Harrier GR7 and (b) Jaguar aircraft were cannibalised during (i) 2003, (ii) 2004 and (iii) 2005.

Adam Ingram: The removal of serviceable parts from one aircraft for use on another is a short term, temporary measure to ensure that the maximum number of aircraft are available to the front line.
	The number of these instances over the last three years is given in the following table.
	
		Number of cannibalisations
		
			  Aircraft type 
			  Harrier GR(18) Jaguar 
		
		
			 2003 1,119 592 
			 2004 958 714 
			 2005 530 400 
		
	
	(18) These figures include cannibalisations in respect of Harrier GR7 and G7a.

Shipbuilding

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department of possible mergers of UK shipbuilding firms; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: As we recognised in the Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS), the maritime industry in the United Kingdom is currently fragmented and inefficient. Different organisations undertake submarine and surface ship build and support, even though skills and facilities cross over in some areas.
	We further recognised that Industrial restructuring and consolidation is a priority and fundamental to creating a viable and sustainable maritime industrial base; one that retains in the UK those technologies, infrastructure, skills, Intellectual Property and capacity needed to ensure appropriate sovereignty. The aim is to encourage greater efficiency and profitability within the industry, while maximising the opportunities for exports, in order to meet the anticipated demand for ensuring in future that the UK's armed forces are provided with the equipment they need, on time, and at best value for money.
	Having stated the case for streamlining the business, it is not for Government to micromanage the industrial restructuring. However we recognise that as the predominant client we must be confident that consolidation will be beneficial to Ministry of Defence and industry. We expect to be consulted early and are likely to express preferences as any approaches emerge.
	Given the MOD's substantial Warship build programme over the next decade, now is the time to address these issues to position the industry for a strong future in times when orders will be fewer.

Side Arms

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Army has plans to update the standard 9mm Browning side arm.

Adam Ingram: There are currently no plans to update the 9mm pistol.

Side Arms

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to re-allocate the Sig Sauer P220 side arms that were recently replaced by Glock 17s; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Neither the Sig Sauer P220 nor the Glock 17 is in current service with the Ministry of Defence.

Undercover Agents

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provision has been made by his Department for the permanent protection of current and former undercover agents in the Irish republican movements who were service personnel when engaged in this role; and what discussions have been held between his Department and other relevant Departments about the duty of care for present or former such undercover agents in the republican movement, in the event of their role being exposed.

Adam Ingram: We do not comment on matters relating to intelligence because to do so would be to the detriment of national security and the safety of individuals.

TREASURY

Gross Debt

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Gross debt (Maastricht basis) shown in Table C23 of Budget 2006 (HC986) includes the capital debt component of private finance initiative and public-private partnership contracts.

Des Browne: General Government gross debt on a Maastricht basis (as forecast in Table C1 of Budget 2006) includes estimates for imputed liabilities for finance leases including those taken out under on balance sheet PFI contracts.

Business Rates

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many communication stations were registered for business rates by the Valuation Office Agency in England in each local authority area in 1998.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 20 December 2005, Official Report, column 2836W, to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman).

Community Shops

Angela Browning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact on community shops of the abolition of 0 per cent. corporation tax on small businesses.

John Healey: The replacement of the starting and non-corporate distribution rates of corporation tax with a single banding for small companies set at the current small companies' rate will only impact on businesses and organisations within the charge to corporation tax and will not impact those operating in the self-employed form or not making profits. A full regulatory impact assessment can be found at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ria/ria-corporation-tax.pdf
	Where community shops operating within the charge to corporation tax donate all or part of their profits to community or other charities under Gift Aid, there will be no tax paid on the profits donated.

Council Tax

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on pensioner poverty of the decision not to continue the annual council tax rebate for pensioners.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	The payment of £200 to help households with someone aged 65 or over not in receipt of the guarantee element of pension credit to help with council tax bills was for last year only. Available data do not allow for a precise assessment of the impact on pensioners on low income of not making a similar payment in 2006–07.

Departmental Websites

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list (a) the websites operated by his Department and (b) the reports placed on the internet in March 2006, indicating in each case whether paper copies were also made available.

John Healey: The information is as follows.
	(a) The websites operated by the Department are as follows:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
	http://www.csren.gov.uk
	http://www.euro.gov.uk
	http://www.financialinclusion-taskforce.org.uk
	http://www.isb.gov.uk
	http://www.ges.gov.uk
	http://www.gsr.gov.uk
	http://www.opg.gov.uk
	http://www.policyhub.gov.uk
	http://www.redbox.gov.uk
	http://www.stakeholdersaving.gov.uk
	http://thegas.treasury.gov.uk
	http://www.wga.gov.uk
	
		(b) Reports placed on the internet in March 2006
		
			 Title Hard copies available 
		
		
			 Central Government Supply Estimates 2004–2005: Statement of excesses Yes 
			 Budget 2006: Main Report Yes 
			 Budget 2006: Main Leaflet Yes 
			 Budget 2006: Data sources Yes 
			 Budget 2006: Regulatory Impact Assessments Yes 
			 Budget 2006: Operational Impact Assessments Yes 
			 Delivering sustainable development: HM Treasury Action Plan No 
			 The European Cooperative Society: A consultation document Yes 
			 PFI: Strengthening long-term partnerships Yes 
			 Independence for statistics: a consultation document Yes 
			 Productivity in the UK 6: Progress and new evidence Yes 
			 Devolving decision making: 3—Meeting the regional economic challenge: The importance of cities to regional growth Yes 
			 Financial services in London: Global opportunities and challenges Yes 
			 The climate change levy package Yes 
			 Employment opportunity for all: Analysing Labour market trends in London Yes 
			 Review of Government Offices Yes 
			 Science and innovation investment framework 2004–2014: next steps Yes 
			 Reducing reporting requirements: a consultation on reform of the 'controllers regime' in Part XII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 Yes 
			 Extending employers' freedoms: A consultation on facilitating financial promotions in the workplace Yes 
			 Modernising tax relief for business expenditure on cars: a consultation document Yes 
			 Carbon capture and storage: a consultation on barriers to commercial deployment Yes 
			 New responses to new challenges: Reinforcing the Tackling Tobacco Smuggling Strategy Yes 
			 Debt and Reserves Management Report (DRMR) 2006–07 Yes 
			 The economy: Supplementary charts and tables Yes 
			 Proposed changes to the eligibility rules for establishing a pension scheme: Government response to the consultation Yes 
			 The UK and the IMF 2005: Meeting the challenges of globalisation for all Yes 
			 Secondary legislation for the regulation of Home Reversion and Home Purchase Plans: A consultation Yes 
			 Risk: Good Practice in Government Yes

Government Spending

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total capital expenditure was in England on (a) education and skills and (b) health in each year since 1999–2000.

Des Browne: As set out in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2005 http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/172/47/pesa2005_complete.pdf the total capital expenditure in England on (a) education and skills and (b) health since 1999–2000 is presented in the following table.
	
		Accruals, £ million
		
			  Education and Training Health 
		
		
			 1999–2000 1,534 917 
			 2000–01 1,992 1,255 
			 2001–02 2,637 1,738 
			 2002–03 3,128 2,091 
			 2003–04 3,575 2,638 
			 2004–05 4,321 3,575 
		
	
	The capital expenditure figure for 2005–06 will be published in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2006 (for publication in May 2006).

Laundered Diesel (Northern Ireland)

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many motorists in Northern Ireland have been detected driving with laundered diesel fuel in each of the last five years.

John Healey: HM Revenue and Customs carry out tests to detect statutory markers in rebated fuel and, where these are detected in the running tank of a road vehicle, action is taken. Tests do not establish with any certainty whether or not fuel in a vehicle's engine is laundered.

Medical Staff (Pay)

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to announce the pay increases to be awarded to (a) doctors and dentists and (b) nurses in the 2006–07 financial year; and whether he intends these pay increases to be phased over the course of the financial year.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement the Secretary of State for Health gave on 30 March 2006, Official Report, column 89WS.

Ministerial Meetings

Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what dates in the last year Ministers in his Department have held meetings with Ministers in the Scottish Executive.

Des Browne: Treasury Ministers meet Scottish Ministers from time-to-time to discuss matters of common interest.

Pension Liabilities

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the liabilities are of each company issued with Crown guarantees in respect of their pension fund deficits; and if he will make a statement.

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what contingent financial liabilities have been entered into by the Government in respect of employees pension funds of companies privatised since 1980; and what his Department's estimate is of its liabilities in relation to (a) British Telecom, (b) the former British Rail, (c) National Freight Corporation and (d) the former National Coal Board;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the contingent public sector liabilities in respect of employee pensions of companies in which the Government retain a shareholding; and what the liabilities are for each company.

Des Browne: Where a Department retain a shareholding in a company or where a Department has provided a guarantee of any pension scheme, it is a matter for that Department to report any obligations created by the guarantee to Parliament in accordance with the requirements of Government accounting and in its departmental resource accounts in accordance with the Government's financial reporting manual, which complies with generally accepted accounting practice.
	It is a matter for that Department to report any obligation created by that shareholding.

Pension Liabilities

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the public sector pension liabilities are in respect of (a) the Civil Service, (b) local government, (c) the NHS, (d) other government agencies, (e) companies in which the Government have a majority or minority shareholding and (f) privatised entities which were formerly state-owned.

Des Browne: The information is not available in the form requested. A technical note detailing the unfunded public service pension liability was placed in the House of Commons Library pursuant to my reply to the hon. Member for Ludlow (Mr. Dunne) of 2 March 2006, Official Report, column 388, and this covers the liability position of all the unfunded public service pension schemes including the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme and the NHS Pension Scheme. In addition the liabilities of the funded Local Government Pension Scheme at the last reporting date were estimated to be approximately £130 billion with assets of £100 billion.
	Information on the pension liabilities of companies in which the Government has a minority or majority shareholding and those of private sector bodies which were formerly state owned is not held centrally but is publicly available in the relevant accounts.

Pension Liabilities

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what account is taken of the contingent public sector liabilities in respect of employee pension funds of privatised companies in his Department's estimate of public sector debt liabilities.

Des Browne: The UK Government are one of the few in the world who has a statutory obligation to report liabilities in the same way as private companies, and whose accounts are subject to independent audit.
	Contingent liabilities are reported in government accounts and to Parliament. They are defined as being contingent on an event, or a set of events, whose likelihood of occurring has been judged as remote. They are not, by their definition, actual liabilities, and so it would not be right to include them in measures of Public Sector Net Debt.

Road Fuel Prices

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he (a) has made and (b) plans to make of the effect of an increase in the price of (i) petrol and (ii) diesel on the UK economy; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he (a) has made and (b) plans to make of the long-term consequences for (i) employment and (ii) the British economy of (A) continued increases in the price of petroleum and (B) a decrease in the output of oil; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the impact on the UK economy if the price of (a) petrol and (b) diesel were to be reduced by (i) five pence and (ii) 10 pence per litre; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The Government continually monitor developments in petroleum markets. The effects of higher oil and fuel prices on the UK economy were discussed on Box 2.5, p.26 of pre-Budget report 2005 (Cm 6701) and in Chapter B of Budget 2006 (HC 968).

Road Fuel Prices

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has made to Arab States about (a) an increase in the price of petroleum and (b) a decrease in the output of oil; what response he has received; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The Chancellor engages in dialogue with the representatives of Arab States—and other oil producers—on a regular basis, both bilaterally and through multilateral fora. These conversations cover a range of issues of common interest and therefore include oil market developments. The Chancellor has repeatedly encouraged major oil producers to increase their investment throughout the oil supply chain in order to ensure that supply growth keeps pace with the growth in demand.

Scottish Executive

Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what criteria are applied to requests from (a) the Scottish Executive to draw down money from the account held by the Treasury on its behalf and (b) Government Departments to draw down underspends;
	(2)  what the balance is on the account held by his Department on behalf of the Scottish Executive.

Des Browne: Details of the end-year flexibility scheme are set out in the Public Expenditure Out-turn White Paper 2005–06 (Cm 6639). Table 6 of that publication details the end-year flexibility entitlements for all Departments.

Scottish Executive

Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what funds were (a) requested to be drawn down and (b) drawn down from the savings account held by his Department on behalf of the Scottish Executive in each year from 2000–01 to 2005–06.

Des Browne: Details of the agreed draw-down of end-year flexibility are set out in the relevant supplementary estimates and accompanying ministerial written statements.

Self-invested Personal Pensions

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the (a) role and (b) regulation of independent trustees for self-invested personal pensions.

Des Browne: It is common for trustees to administer personal pension schemes. Under current legislation trustees are often exempt from requiring FSA authorisation. Many self-invested personal pensions (SIPP) providers use this route for exemption.
	Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPP) operators will, from April 2007, need to be authorised by the FSA with all the protection for consumers that this entails. That includes any trustees who are operating the scheme unless they are not doing so by way of business or are just 'bare trustees'. The FSA is currently consulting industry on the detailed implementation of how this relates to trustees.

Smuggling (Northern Ireland)

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Customs and Excise officers were assigned to tackling smuggling activities in Northern Ireland in the 2005–06 financial year; and how many man hours this represents.

John Healey: The staff employed by HM Revenue and Customs in Northern Ireland who contribute to anti-smuggling activities was 159 in 2004–05. They are deployed across a range of activities that contribute to, but are not solely allocated to, our anti-smuggling efforts; including investigation, detection and intelligence. As a consequence we are unable to attribute a single staffing figure to anti-smuggling work.
	All staffing figures for 2005–06 are not yet available but will be published in the HMRC Annual Report 2005–06.

Smuggling (Northern Ireland)

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of detections of smuggling in Northern Ireland were made by HM Revenue and Customs in the last period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of detections of smuggling in Northern Ireland were made by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in the last period for which figures are available.

John Healey: HM Revenue and Customs work closely with many other agencies to tackle smuggling, including the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
	The number of detections of smuggled goods in the financial year 2004–05 in Northern Ireland was 1,939 but it is not possible to distinguish what number, if any, were the result of working with any other agency, or referred to HMRC by that agency.

Stillbirths

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many babies have been stillborn in each of the regions of the UK in each of the last five years; and what percentage of the total number of births this represented in each case.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Jill Matheson, dated 27 April 2006
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many babies have been stillborn in each of the regions of the UK in each of the last five years; and what percentage of the total number of births this represented in each case. I am replying in her absence. (65413)
	The table below shows the number of stillbirths, and stillbirths as a percentage of all births, in countries of the UK and Government Office Regions of England for the years 2000 to 2004.
	
		Number of stillbirths, and stillbirths as a percentage of total births, in countries of the United Kingdom and Government office regions of England, 2000–2004
		
			  2000 2001 2002 
			  Number of stillbirths Stillbirths as percentage of total births(19) Number of stillbirths Stillbirths as percentage of total births(19) Number of stillbirths Stillbirths as percentage of total births(19) 
		
		
			 United Kingdom 3,594 0.53 3,572 0.53 3,772 0.56 
			 England and Wales(20) 3,203 0.53 3,159 0.53 3,372 0.56 
			 England(20)(5509120021) 3,029 0.53 2,991 0.53 3,201 0.56 
			 Wales(20)(5509120021) 145 0.46 155 0.50 164 0.54 
			 Scotland(22) 298 0.56 301 0.57 278 0.54 
			 Northern Ireland(23) 93 0.43 112 0.51 122 0.57 
			
			 Government Office Regions of England(20)   
			 North East 140 0.53 136 0.52 153 0.58 
			 North West 418 0.54 459 0.61 424 0.56 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 338 0.60 287 0.51 334 0.60 
			 East Midlands 218 0.47 241 0.54 254 0.56 
			 West Midlands 348 0.56 337 0.55 383 0.62 
			 East 296 0.48 291 0.48 318 0.53 
			 London 663 0.63 620 0.59 691 0.65 
			 South East 398 0.44 409 0.46 421 0.48 
			 South West 210 0.42 211 0.43 223 0.45 
		
	
	
		
			  2003 2004 
			  Number of stillbirths Stillbirths as percentage of total births(19) Number of stillbirths Stillbirths as percentage of total births(19) 
		
		
			 United Kingdom 3,989 0.57 3,962 0.55 
			 England and Wales(20) 3,585 0.57 3,532 0.55 
			 England(20)(5509120021) 3,405 0.57 3,338 0.55 
			 Wales(20)(5509120021) 160 0.51 179 0.55 
			 Scotland(22) 296 0.56 317 0.58 
			 Northern Ireland(23) 108 0.50 113 0.50 
			  
			 Government Office Regions of England(20)   
			 North East 150 0.55 157 0.56 
			 North West 468 0.60 449 0.55 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 347 0.60 347 0.57 
			 East Midlands 289 0.61 265 0.55 
			 West Midlands 387 0.60 367 0.55 
			 East 309 0.49 339 0.52 
			 London 752 0.68 710 0.62 
			 South East 443 0.48 458 0.49 
			 South West 260 0.50 246 0.47 
		
	
	(19) Stillbirths as a percentage of live births and stillbirths.
	(20) Some stillbirths in 2004 are excluded from these and previously published figures, as the relevant registration details were not sent to ONS before the statistics were compiled. Revised figures for 2004 will be published as soon as possible to include the additional stillbirth registrations.
	(21) Excludes non-residents of England and Wales.
	(22) Includes non-residents of Scotland.
	(23) Excludes non-residents of Northern Ireland.
	Source:
	ONS Series DH3 Mortality statistics—Childhood, infant and perinatal.
	General Register Office—Scotland. The Registrar General's Annual Report.
	General Register Office—Northern Ireland. The Registrar General's Annual Report.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 25 January 2006, Official Report, column 222W, to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman), on the Valuation Office Agency, whether Tenet software is used for council tax valuation purposes; and if he will list the products purchased from Tenet.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	Products purchased from Tenet IT Mapping Limited are (i) a digital mapping system, available to all Valuation Office Agency staff and (ii) a locality delineation tool, available to a limited number of VGA users.
	The digital mapping system supports work on the current (1993) council tax lists as it allows staff to identify the location of individual properties (especially in rural locations).

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 7 March 2006, Official Report, columns 1308–9W, on the Valuation Office Agency, what the purpose is of the electronic image management application; and whether it stores images of domestic properties for council tax valuation purposes.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has a digital photography application, which links photographs of properties and land to addresses held in its property database. The photographs are of both domestic and non domestic properties as well as land. They are used to assist the VOA in carrying out its functions, including those for council tax and non domestic rating. Images, including those of domestic properties, are stored in a secure database.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what role the OASIS PC market applications plays in the Valuation Office Agency's council tax valuations.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	The OASIS PC market application plays no role in undertaking council tax valuations.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library copies of the minutes of the Valuation Office Agency Programme Board that was preparing for the council tax revaluation in England.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	The minutes of the Valuation Office Agency's Programme Board for the (now postponed) council tax revaluation in England contain commercially sensitive information and information linked to the formulation and development of Government policy.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Support

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer Question 52727 tabled on 14 February 2006 by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead on child maintenance.

James Plaskitt: I replied to my right hon. Friend on 19 April 2006.

Child Support

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the real costs of running the Child Support Agency for each year from 1997–98 to 2007–08, using 2004–05 prices; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Hilary Reynolds
	In reply to your Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As the Chief Executive is unavailable, I am responding on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his estimate is of the real costs of ruing the Child Support Agency for each year from 1997–98 to 2007–08 using 2004–05 prices; and if he will make a statement.
	The costs of running the CSA for each year from 1997–98 to 2007–08, is shown I the attached tables.
	A change in accounting policy within DWP means that from 2005–06 all costs associated with the modernisation programme will be charged to individual Agencies. The numbers in this response are based on a consistent application of this new accounting policy across all years.
	The upward movement of costs in the 2006–07 and 2007–08 years is representative of a one off investment to clear current backlogs and reduce historic debt (in line with the Agency's Operational Improvement Plan), rather than an increase in recurrent cost.
	I hope you find this helpful.
	
		£ million
		
			 Column A B C D E F G 
			  (24)Agency spend (25)(5509120026)Estimated agency spend including operational improvement plan (27)Modernisation spend—CSR (28)Estimated DWP costs incurred on agencies behalf (29)Costs and estimated costs—in current year prices (30)Gross domestic product—deflator 2004–05 = 100 (31)Costs and estimated costs in 2004–05 prices 
		
		
			 1997–98 225.9 — — — 225.9 1.17461 265.3 
			 1998–99 231.2 — — — 231.2 1.1449 264.7 
			 1999–2000 260.3 — 6.4 — 266.7 1.1229 299.3 
			 2000–01 250.0 — 48.3 — 298.3 1.1083 330.6 
			 2001–02 290.4 — 71.5 — 361.9 1.0816 391.4 
			 2002–03 294.3 — 134.6 — 428.9 1.0483 449.6 
			 2003–04 323.0 — 128.6 — 451.6 1.0212 461.2 
			 2004–05 325.6 — 99.5 — 425.1 1.0000 425.1 
			 2005–06(32) — 403 — 58 461 0.9756 450 
			 2006–07 — 534 — 58 592 0.9500 562 
			 2007–08 — 491 — 58 549 0.9250 508 
		
	
	(24) Figures reported in the Agency's Annual Report and Accounts and include DWP costs apportioned to Child Support Agency.
	(25) Estimated spend on Agency budgets for which the Chief Executive has responsibility as Agency accounting officer.
	(26) The 2005–06 figures include Child Support Reform costs and Operational Improvement Plan costs.
	(27) Modernisation spend on Child Support Reform was previously included in DWP headquarters accounts. Due to a change in financial policy endorsed by National Audit Office these costs will in future be shown in the Agency annual accounts. The 2004–05 accounts will be restated to reflect this changed policy and the restated comparatives included in the 2005–06 audited accounts.
	(28) This figures is an estimate and relates to services provided by DWP on behalf of the Agency—principally IT charges, and charges for finance, personal, commercial management, postage and assurance. This estimate does not take into account any possible change in future years such as pay and prices (inflation), change in Estate/IT costs etc.
	(29) This represents the sum of columns A to D.
	(30) Gross domestic product deflator applied in line with Office for National Statistics advice for 2005–06 and beyond assumed deflator is 2.5 per cent.
	(31) Column E multiplied by column F.
	(32) All values are rounded to the nearest hundred thousand except figures from 2005–06 onwards, which are rounded to the nearest million, as they are estimated amounts. Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to answer the letter of 27 February 2006 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, about Mr. W Beckett.

John Hutton: I replied to my right hon. Friend on 19 April 2006.

Councillors' Remuneration

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how the responsibility allowance allocated to leaders and cabinet members of local councils is treated for benefit purposes.

James Plaskitt: Councillors with significant extra responsibilities, for example the leader of a council, can receive an additional allowance.
	When assessing benefit entitlement this allowance is taken into account as earnings, subject to the appropriate disregards.

Departmental Documentation

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the Department's compliance with accessibility targets for its public documentation.

Anne McGuire: My Department takes the issue of accessibility very seriously—both as an employer and a provider of services to the public.
	Internal guidance and standards are in place to ensure that there is a consistent approach to meeting the communication needs of members of the public. This includes the provision of material in alternative formats (such as audio tape, easy read, Braille and large print) and a commitment to the use of plain English. Information translated into other languages is also available (such as bilingual leaflets, audio and video tape). Our websites are working towards the highest standards of accessibility.
	We will as a matter of course further review accessibility of documents as we develop our Disability Equality Scheme.

Departmental Estate (Parklands Building)

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what total liability arose through the reconstruction of his Department's Parklands building; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Legal actions were raised in the Court of Session by the Department against the original builders of this estate and their design team in early 2001. These actions were settled out of court and the Department has been compensated. The Department's total liability is to rectify the defects on this estate as defined by the Building Investigation Corporation investigative reports, by 2008, to the satisfaction of our Facilities Management contractor. It is estimated that the total costs associated with any reconstruction works will be £2.9 million.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid in (a) bonus payments and (b) performance related pay to senior civil servants administering the Financial Assistance Scheme in the last 12 months.

Stephen Timms: The operational unit of the Financial Assistance Scheme was set up on 1 April 2005 and opened for business to the public on 1 September 2005. Any senior civil servant's performance related pay and bonus related to the work of the unit would be payable in the senior civil service pay round for 2006. Pay increases and bonuses in the Department for Work and Pensions for the year ending 31 March 2006 will be awarded in June 2006 and paid in July 2006.

Jobcentres

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker's allowance and incapacity benefit claimants were dealt with in the Putney jobcentre in (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 18 April 2006
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many Jobseeker's Allowance and Incapacity Benefit claimants were dealt with in the Putney Jobcentre in (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06. This is something which fall within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Information on the total number of claimants dealt with in Putney Jobcentre during 2004–05 and 2005–06 is not available. However, Putney Jobcentre had on average 1649 claimants to Jobseeker's Allowance during each day of 2004–05 and 1700 during each day of 2005–06.
	Incapacity Benefit claimants could have used Wandsworth Social Security office (now the site of Wandsworth Jobcentre Plus) for any enquiries, or they could have contacted a processing centre by telephone. They would not have used the Putney office.
	I hope this helpful.

Link Age Plus Scheme

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether he plans to pilot the Link Age Plus Scheme in West Yorkshire;
	(2)  what progress has been made in the Link Age Plus Scheme and Steering Group; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: We announced in "Opportunity Age" our intention to pilot a LinkAge Plus service, providing a fully integrated service for older people. The Social Exclusion Unit Report 'A Sure Start to Later Life' also proposed a new approach to delivering services to and for older people, building on the principles of the Sure Start model for children and families, LinkAge Plus will deliver this service.
	The programme will test ways of delivering fully integrated services for older people—from employment, health and benefits to leisure and learning. This will involve working with older people to identify effective models that meet their needs and aspirations and involving them in the design.
	The whole programme is overseen by a steering group drawn from a range of central government, voluntary sector and local government organisations. In fact, the whole programme is based on partnership working—with older people, national key stakeholder organisations and agencies, local authorities and Government Departments, all playing a crucial role.
	The programme plans to run up to eight pilots in England and a number of local authorities are currently helping to develop the 'LinkAge Plus' concept further and advise on how it can be delivered practically on the ground. One of these local authorities is Leeds City Council. Final announcements on the programme will be made shortly, including details of final pilot selection. We anticipate that the first pilot will start in July.

Parliamentary Questions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer Question 47250 tabled by the hon. Member for Portsmouth South on 26 January on learning disability.

Anne McGuire: I answered question 47250 on 30 March 2006.

Winter Fuel Allowance

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what would the annual winter fuel allowance now be if it had changed in line with (a) the retail price index and (b) domestic fuel costs since 2000–01.

Stephen Timms: The annual winter fuel payment was £20 in winter 1997–98, rising to £200 from winter 2000–01. If the winter fuel payment had been increased in line with the retail price index from 2000–01, the value of the payment in 2005–06 would have been £225. If it had been increased in line with the increase in domestic fuel costs, the value of the payment would have been £258. From 2003–04, an extra £100 has been paid to households which include a person aged 80 or over.
	Note:
	For 'domestic fuel' we have used the ONS' Fuel and Light index which incorporates: coal and solid fuels, electricity, gas and oil, and other fuels.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Electoral Registration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will give line performance indicators for electoral registration, at each stage of registration, for each local authority area in each of the last 10 years.

Bridget Prentice: Electoral services are delivered by local electoral registration officers and returning officers. No uniform line performance indicators have been required of local authorities in respect of these areas in the past and so the information sought is not available from central government but may be held by individual local authorities. The Electoral Administration Bill currently under consideration in Parliament contains provisions that will in future allow the independent Electoral Commission to set performance standards for elections in order to promote best practice and consistency in the delivery of electoral services.

Electoral Registration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the current guidelines are for staffing levels of local authority registration departments.

Bridget Prentice: Electoral services are delivered by local electoral registration officers and returning officers. No guidelines have been issued centrally to local authorities in the past on staffing levels in registration departments and so the information sought is not available from central Government. The Electoral Administration Bill currently under consideration in Parliament contains provisions that will in future allow the independent Electoral Commission to set performance standards for elections in order to promote best practice and consistency in the delivery of electoral services.

Electoral Registration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will consider introducing a carry forward policy for voter registration of one general election cycle.

Bridget Prentice: In Great Britain, the Representation of the People Regulations 2001 currently provide for entries on the register to be retained for one year where no form is returned relating to a particular property at an annual canvass.
	Within the system of electoral registration in place in Great Britain, the Government believes that a carry-forward period of a General Election cycle would be likely to increase levels of inaccuracy in the register to unacceptable levels. However, we will keep this policy under review, particularly in the light of changes to the registration system in Northern Ireland which are proposed in the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, currently before Parliament.

Electoral Registration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list the local authorities electoral registration departments that (a) do and (b) do not use bar coding on their electoral registration forms.

Bridget Prentice: A number of local authorities print a barcode on electoral registration forms to aid with the administration of the annual canvass. A list of which local authorities do and do not operate this system is not held centrally.

Electoral Registration

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which local authorities have reduced their electoral budgets over the past 10 years.

Bridget Prentice: As electoral services are delivered and funded at local level this information would be held by individual local authorities, and is not something that is held centrally by Government. The Electoral Administration Bill currently under consideration in Parliament contains provisions that will in future allow the independent Electoral Commission to ask electoral officers for information about expenditure in connection with the performance of their functions, including registration. This will enable more detailed information to be made available on the funding of electoral registration.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Capita

Chris Grayling: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much business his Department has placed with (a) Capita Group plc and (b) its subsidiaries in each of the last five years; what the total value is of outstanding contracts placed with Capita Group plc and its subsidiaries by his Department; for which current tenders issued by his Department (i) Capita Group plc and (ii) its subsidiaries have been invited to bid; and whether (A) Capita Group plc and (B) its subsidiaries have seconded staff (1) temporarily and (2) on a longer-term basis to (X) his Department and (Y) its agencies.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to my answers given on 27 March 2006, Official Report, columns 97–98W, to the hon. Member for Hornchurch (James Brokenshire). In addition no staff from Capita Plc or any of its subsidiaries have been seconded either temporarily or on a longer term basis to the Department or any of its agencies.

Councillors' Expenses

Keith Simpson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the responsibility allowance allocated to leaders and council members of councils in England and Wales is for (a) their personal use and (b) expenses.

Phil Woolas: Special responsibility allowance is paid to members of local authorities as recognition of the time commitment likely to be incurred by those members in the discharge of their duties. The allowance is paid at a rate fixed by the local authority in relation to the responsibility held. It is for the members themselves to decide how they spend this money.

Departmental Staff

Michael Weir: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2005 to the hon. Member for Dundee, East, Official Report, column 2559W, on departmental staff, what the average additional payment to staff paid the London area pay rate was for 2005–06; how many and what proportion of staff are entitled to this rate; and if he will estimate the annual saving to his Department if London staff were paid at the national pay rate.

Jim Fitzpatrick: There are a number of grades of staff in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). Below the senior civil service, there are London and national pay rates for each grade. Pay rates are determined by negotiation with the trade unions, and take account of a number of factors including market rates. Differences between London and national pay rates are proportionately larger for more junior grades.
	In 2005–06, the overall average salary difference for London and national staff in ODPM headquarters was around 11 per cent. Around 2,000 (92 per cent.) of staff were on London pay rates. If all staff had been on national pay rates, we estimate salary costs would have been some £5.5 million lower.
	Corresponding figures for the Government offices were a 10 per cent. difference between London and national average salaries. Around 300 (11 per cent.) of staff were on London rates. If all staff had been on national pay rates, we estimate salary costs would have been some £1 million lower.

Disabled People

Tom Levitt: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his Department's progress in meeting its statutory obligation as a public body to promote the rights of disabled people.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 placed new duties on public authorities to promote equality for disabled people, 'the Disability Equality Duty'. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) is working closely with the Disability Rights Commission as a pathfinder Government Department while it develops its disability equality scheme over the next few months. The partnership should help ODPM to develop a high quality disability equality scheme, develop best practice to share with other Government Departments, and provide experience for the Disability Rights Commission on implementing the duty.
	In 2004 ODPM carried out a benchmarking exercise developed by the Employers Forum on Disability, to find out more about the problems faced by disabled people in the Department. As a result, a disability action plan was developed. Most of the actions from the plan are underway, and over half have already been completed, such as a major consultation with disabled staff, guidance on organising accessible events and improved building access. Other actions taken by ODPM to help it prepare for the Disability Equality Duty include:
	The screening of ODPM policies and functions to ensure that they promote equality of opportunity for disabled people;
	Engaging with ODPM stakeholders to help ensure compliance with the duty;
	The delivery of a consultation implementation plan, following a major consultation of disabled staff in ODPM;
	Organising of a series of seminars on making events accessible to disabled people;
	The development of an evidence base to support implementation of the duty.
	Implementing the Disability Equality Duty within local government is a matter for the local authorities. However ODPM has commissioned a study which examined the extent to which local authorities are implementing the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) in ways that promote and support the social inclusion of disabled people. The findings of this study should help local authorities fulfil their duties under the Act. My senior officials and I have also spoken at conferences held by the Disability Rights Commission on the importance of the duty to local authorities.
	Other actions taken by my Department to help promote equality for disabled people include the following:
	Removing the means test for families of disabled children who apply for Disabled Facilities Grant;
	Incorporating disability accessibility standards into the new Code for Sustainable Buildings;
	Together with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health, piloting individualised budgets for disabled people by bringing together sources of funding, services, equipment and adaptations;
	Publishing reports on the experiences that certain vulnerable groups—including disabled people—have of accessing and using mainstream public services.
	Through the Supporting People programme, enabling the provision of housing-related support services at local level to help vulnerable people (including disabled people) to maintain or improve their ability to live independently.

Fire and Rescue

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people were (a) rescued alive from fires and (b) led to safety from fires by fire and rescue service personnel in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The following table shows the number of people that were (a) rescued alive from fires, and (b) led or carried out from fires, by fire and rescue service personnel in England in each year from 1995 to 2004.
	
		People rescued alive from fires by fire and rescue service personnel, England,1995–2004
		
			  Total(33) Led/carried out Other rescue method 
		
		
			 1995 3,472 2,721 751 
			 1996 3,464 2,774 690 
			 1997 3,573 2,896 677 
			 1998 3,504 2,820 684 
			 1999 3,924 3,187 737 
			 2000 4,883 3,917 966 
			 2001 4,080 3,236 844 
			 2002(34) 4,592 3,763 829 
			 2003(34) 4,341 3,592 749 
			 2004 3,833 3,195 638 
		
	
	(33) The total number of people rescued alive includes people who were injured, those who needed precautionary check-ups and those who were unharmed by the fire. The latter is based on a grossed up 20 per cent. sample of primary fires attended.
	(34) Data include estimates for incidents not recorded during periods of national industrial action in 2002 and 2003.
	Note:
	Figures are based on primary fires attended by the fire and rescue service.
	Source:
	Fire and Rescue Service FDR1 returns to ODPM.

Fire and Rescue

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many water rescues the fire and rescue service were involved in in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Hereditaments

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2006, Official Report, column 1358W, on hereditaments, for what reason the number of composite hereditaments on the Council Tax List is different from the number on the Ratings List; and what assessment he has made of the reason for the decline in the number of composite hereditaments on the Ratings List since 2001.

Yvette Cooper: No assessment has been made of the reason for the decline in the number of composite hereditaments entered in the Rating List since 2001. There is no apparent reason for this. A composite hereditament comprises both non-domestic and domestic elements. Dwellings are listed in the Valuation List but a corresponding entry may not appear in the Rating List if the non-domestic part is exempt, for instance a farm or market garden. Numbers in the two lists will not therefore be identical.

Social Policy

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures the Government are taking (a) to promote social inclusion and (b) to reduce social exclusion among young people; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Social Exclusion Unit continues to work across government to tackle social exclusion and is undertaking more strategic work to promote social inclusion.
	Work on young people is carried out in a number of departments and we are all working closely together to ensure that young people achieve good outcomes in all areas of their lives. In 2004–05 there were 700,000 fewer children living in relative poverty (after housing costs) compared to 1998–99 and educational attainment has improved at all key stages since 1997, including improvements for all of the main ethnic groups and progress in schools in disadvantaged areas.
	Around 400,000 young children and families in the most disadvantaged areas are benefiting from over 500 Sure Start programmes and there are further developments—such as integrated targeted support for young people—expected from Youth Matters: Next Steps which was published by the Department for Education and Skills in March this year.
	Last year the Social Exclusion Unit published "Transitions: Young Adults with Complex Needs". The report contains new evidence and new action that will help 16 to 25-year-olds with severe or multiple problems become successful, independent adults.

HEALTH

Administration Spending

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on (a) administration and (b) management costs by each primary care trust in England in the last year for which figures are available, expressed (i) as a percentage of their total budget and (ii) as the cost per head of population in areas they cover.

Liam Byrne: Administration and management costs as a percentage of total net operating costs and as the cost per head of population for all primary care trusts in England for 2004–05 has been placed in the Library.

Agenda for Change

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when she expects to complete the Agenda for Change review process;
	(2)  how many staff have been recruited to oversee the Agenda for Change review of NHS staff pay and conditions since 2003;
	(3)  what the costs of the administration of the Agenda for Change review of NHS staff pay and conditions exercise were in each year since its inception.

Liam Byrne: While the Department led the formal review of the early implementer process in 2003, the ongoing review of the national roll-out of agenda for change since October 2004 is the responsibility of NHS Employers through the NHS Staff Council process. Given this position, the Department does not hold centrally information on staff employed on these issues or administrative costs.

Agenda for Change

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2006, Official Report, column 724W, on NHS contracts, what follow-up work is being carried out on the cost of implementing agenda for change in each strategic health authority; when the results of this follow-up work will be reported to her Department; what plans she has to increase the funding envelope for agenda for change in (a) 2006–07 and (b) 2007–08; what her Department estimated the additional costs of implementing agenda for change to be for each financial year between 2004–05 and 2008–09; and whether her Department has estimated the difference between the cost of implementing agenda for change and her Department's estimates.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 24 April 2006
	Monitoring of the costs of agenda for change in 28 sample sites in 2005 suggested that in the first 12 months from October 2004 to September 2005 direct earnings costs exceeded those originally estimated by 0.5 per cent., of the agenda for change pay bill, or around £120 million a year in cash terms. In the same period, this data suggested that the indirect earnings costs of replacing additional hours and leave arising from agenda for change exceeded those originally estimated by at least £100 million a year. An exercise was subsequently carried out by strategic health authority (SHA) finance directors in late 2005 to validate these effects. This broadly confirmed the findings from the sample site monitoring in terms of the overall effect, although there were significant variations between SHAs.
	The funding envelope for agenda for change is £1.4 billion in 2006–07 and £1.8 billion in 2007–08, an increase of £440 million and £830 million respectively over 2005–06. Actual costs for 2006–07, 2007–08 and 2008–09 will depend to a significant extent on experience of the operation of the new agenda for change pay progression arrangements and matters are being kept under review.

Asthma

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people aged (a) nought to six, (b) seven to 11, (c) 12 to 15, (d) 16 to 18, (e) 19 to 21 and (f) 22 to 25 years in (i) the north east, (ii) the Tees Valley and (iii) each parliamentary constituency in the north east have been diagnosed with asthma in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not collect data on the number of people diagnosed each year with asthma. However, the Health and Social Care Information Centre publishes data on the total number of people in each general practitioner (GP) practice and primary care trust (PCT) area recorded with asthma. Information relating to the County Durham and Tees Valley strategic health authority and the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear strategic health authority areas has been placed in the Library. This is also available on their website at www.ic.nhs.uk.

Bone Marrow Donors

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms are in place to facilitate international bone marrow donations.

Caroline Flint: There are three bone marrow registries in the United Kingdom. These are linked to an international register known as Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide (BMDW). BMDW is an internet-based organisation, and allows registries to quickly identify potential donors anywhere in the world.

Bone Marrow Donors

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to increase the number of registered bone marrow donors (a) in total and (b) from under-represented ethnic groups.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 25 April 2006
	NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for managing blood supplies in England and north Wales and for managing the British Bone Marrow Register (BBMR). It does this through its operating division—the National Blood Service (NBS). The NBS recruits blood donors from the general public and potential bone marrow donors from the active blood donor populations.
	Over the last three years, the NBS has added over 100,000 people to the BBMR. The NBS's strategy over the coming year is to maintain the BBMR at its current size and focus their recruitment activity towards under represented ethnic groups.
	In 2004 the NBS commissioned the Central Office of Information (COI) to lead on a long-term strategy to attract more people from ethnic communities to give blood and join the BBMR. A campaign called "One Blood" is addressing existing barriers by
	raising awareness of the importance and relevance of blood donation;
	encouraging individual and community ownership of the issue;
	tackling religious objections and myths; and
	encouraging blood donation.
	The NBS has also developed an advertising campaign "Are you my Type?" which features black and minority ethnic celebrities.

Care Homes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care homes there are in (a) the West Midlands region and (b) Coventry.

Rosie Winterton: I understand from the chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that there are there are 1,953 care homes in the West Midlands region, with 44,337 registered places. In Coventry, there are 87 care homes, with 1,902 registered places.

Carlisle Primary Care Trust

Eric Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of patients were offered a first appointment with a general practitioner within two working days in the Carlisle primary care trust area.

Liam Byrne: Latest figures at December 2005 show that 100 per cent., of patients were offered an appointment with a general practitioner within two working days in the Carlisle primary care trust area.

"Choosing Health"

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been allocated to each primary care trust to implement Choosing Health.

Liam Byrne: Data showing the allocations made to each primary care trust (PCT) in the years 2006–07 and 2007–08 to support implementation of the "Choosing Health" White Paper have been placed in the Library.
	It is the PCTs' responsibility to decide how best to utilise these funds, depending on the needs of their local populations. However, the "Choosing Health" White Paper delivery plan sets out in more detail expectations of how this funding should be utilised.

"Choosing Health"

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether "Choosing Health" revenue allocations to primary care trusts are ring-fenced.

Liam Byrne: The funding included in the 2006–08 revenue allocations, to support the "Choosing Health" White Paper was not ring-fenced. However, the revenue allocations do separately identify £211 million in 2006–07 and £342 million in 2007–08, over half of the £1 billion promised, to support implementation of the "Choosing Health" White Paper. This funding has been targeted to reach the most deprived areas, to allow primary care trusts (PCTs) to deliver the commitments in "Choosing Health".
	It is PCTs' responsibility to decide how best to utilise these funds, depending on the needs of their local populations. The "Choosing Health" White Paper delivery plan sets out in more detail expectations of how this funding should be utilised.

ComMedica

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  why Connecting for Health has suspended its contract with ComMedica;
	(2)  which Minister approved the suspension of the contract with ComMedica; and if she will place in the Library the advice that Minister was acting upon;
	(3)  how much the suspension of the contract with ComMedica has cost since 10 January;
	(4)  what part of the National Programme for Information Technology ComMedica was delivering; how it was delivering that part of the programme; what alternative delivery system Connecting for Health requires; and what the bidding process will be to deliver that system;
	(5)  what assessment she has made of the impact of the suspension of the contract with ComMedica on the costs and the delivery of the part of the National Programme for Information Technology for which the company was responsible;
	(6)  what assessment she has made of the costs to date of the decision of Connecting for Health to suspend its contract with ComMedica; and what estimate she has made of the likely consequential costs in the next two financial years.

Liam Byrne: NHS Connecting for Health has never had a contract with ComMedica.
	ComMedica was selected as a sub-contractor to provide picture archiving and communications services (PACS) for the national programme for information technology's North West and West Midlands regional cluster area, under contract to the CSC consortium, in September 2004. CSC is one of four supplier organisations that have contracts as local service providers (LSPs) with NHS Connecting for Health under the national programme.
	The role of the LSPs is to integrate existing local systems, and where necessary implement new systems, to ensure that the programme's national applications can be delivered locally in each of the five cluster areas. They do this largely through contracts with sub-contractor companies such as ComMedica providing, for example, hardware, software and consultancy support. NHS Connecting for Health's contractual relationship is with the LSPs.
	CSC is negotiating with another company for the supply of a PACS solution in the North West and West Midlands cluster area as a result of repeated failure by ComMedica to deliver its solution to agreed deadlines. This company will deploy its PACS product within the next three months. NHS Connecting for Health has not incurred, and will not in future incur, any additional financial costs as a result of this change of provider.

ComMedica

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of potential security risks associated with the NHS Connecting for Health computer system; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 25 April 2006
	Systems and services delivered through the national programme for information technology incorporate stringent security controls and safeguards to prevent unrestricted or uncontrolled access to personal information. Access is controlled via a unique user identity, involving a passcode and smartcard, which can be obtained only on verification of identity and through a formal user registration process. Only those National health service staff having a legitimate relationship with the patient will be able to see a patient's health record, and under arrangements known as role based access control, access to a patient's care record is limited to only as much information as is needed for the purpose of the care or other job role being performed in relation to the patient.
	In addition, up-to-the-minute security protection has been designed in, across the system, and international security standards are applied across all system implementations. These include the use of encryption to communication links between systems, and to user interfaces with systems. The quality of both the logical and physical security of data centres is assured using both international and British standards, and all suppliers to the national programme are contractually bound to auditing their adherence to these.
	Over and above these implemented safeguards, the NHS maintains an effective liaison with the United Kingdom's information security authorities and others for the sharing of relevant advice and guidance on known information security threats and vulnerabilities.

Complementary Medicine

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she intends to bring forward legislation providing for the regulation of practitioners of complementary and alternative medicines and therapies.

Jane Kennedy: A working group which will actively prepare for statutory regulation of these groups is currently being set up. We have appointed a chair for a new working group and are currently seeking nominations for its members. The group will hold its first meeting in June 2006.

Contracts (Voluntary Sector)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many contracts are let by her Department to voluntary sector organisations; how many of those are let on an annual basis; and how many of those had received finalised contracts for 2006–07 by 31 March.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not collect the information of its contracts with voluntary sector organisations that would allow specifically for the analysis requested without incurring disproportionate costs.

Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will reply to the letter of 6 March 2006 from the hon. Member for Walsall, North regarding funding of residential homes.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 24 April 2006
	This letter was replied to on Tuesday 25 April 2006.

Dentistry

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of dentists have signed the new NHS contract in each primary care trust in (a) Lincolnshire, (b) Doncaster, (c) Hull, (d) East Yorkshire, (e) Wakefield, (f) Rotherham, (g) Sheffield and (h) Leeds.

Liam Byrne: Figures are not yet available at a primary care trust level. The following information shows the number of dental contracts that have been signed in the three strategic health authority (SHA) areas covering Yorkshire.
	
		
			 SHA Contracts signed NHS service levels(35) (Percentage) Contracts rejected 
		
		
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 211 93.8 63 
			 South Yorkshire 198 99.0 6 
			 West Yorkshire 297 95.7 41 
		
	
	(35) Compared with rejected contract.

Disabled People

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on her Department's progress in fulfilling its statutory obligation as a public body to promote the rights of disabled people.

Liam Byrne: The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 placed new duties on public authorities to promote equality for disabled people, the disability equality duty.
	The Department has agreed a comprehensive joint programme of work with the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) that is—among other things—designed to deliver compliance with the new statutory duty, both within the Department and across health and social care.
	In addition, the Department and the DRC have jointly produced leaflets for front-line staff in both primary and secondary care. These leaflets are aimed at improving services for disabled people by giving practical examples of ways in which front-line staff can meet the access requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. First published in 2004, over 130,000 have so far been ordered, and they have recently been reprinted. To further ensure that all health and social care staff are properly aware of the needs of disabled people, the Department and DRC are producing a comprehensive education and learning programme for national health service and social care staff that will be available later this year.

Disabled People

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress her Department has made towards achieving its 2005 aim that each social services locality should be complemented by a local user-led organisation of disabled people modelled on existing centres for (a) independent and (b) inclusive living by 2010.

Liam Byrne: The Department is currently considering how to take forward the recommendation in "Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People" about user-led organisations.

Elderly Care Costs

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 December 2005, Official Report, column 2701W, on elderly care costs, whether the estimated cost of £1.7 billion for free personal care for 2005–06 excludes the saving in means-tested assistance with personal care costs.

Liam Byrne: Making personal care free for everyone carries a very substantial and increasing cost, but would not raise the standard or range of services available. The cost for 2005–06, estimated by the Department, is £1.7 billion. This represents the increase in net expenditure on adult social services needed to deliver free personal care in all settings. The estimate covers implications for net social services expenditure. Savings on the Department for Work and Pensions disability benefits, however, that would result from making free personal care available are not subtracted.

Embryo Experimentation/Stem Cell Research

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what treatments for (a) children and (b) adults with disabling conditions have been developed by use of (i) human embryo experimentation and (ii) stem cell research; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the replies given on 29 November 2005, Official Report, column 404W, and 14 December 2005, Official Report, column 2173W respectively.

General Practitioners

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what increase in salary general practitioners have received in the last year.

Liam Byrne: This information is currently not available centrally.

General Practitioners

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pounds per point general practitioners earned from the quality and outcomes framework in (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06; and how many pounds per point GPs can expect to earn from the framework in 2006–07.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not collect centrally the pounds per point earned from the quality and outcomes framework by individual general practitioners. The pounds per point earned by the average practice, subject to adjustment by prevalence and practice list size, are:
	
		
			  £ per point 
		
		
			 2004–05 77.50 
			 2005–06 124.60 
			 2006–07 124.60

General Practitioners

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what average hours general practitioners worked per week in England in (a) 1995, (b) 2000 and (c) 2005.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally. General practitioners are self-employed contractors and therefore have direct control themselves of the number of hours a week they work. Regulations determine the hours during which services are available to patients, but individual working hours are a matter for each practice.

Health Professionals

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate her Department has made of the requirement for education and training places for (a) nurses, (b) midwives, (c) physiotherapists, (d) podiatrists, (e) radiographers and (f) professions complementary to dentistry over the period 2006 to 2010.

Liam Byrne: Workforce planning is a matter for local national health service organisations to deal with. They are best placed to assess the health needs of their local health community and will commission the required number of education and training places to meet those needs.

Hospitals

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) advice and (b) instructions she has issued to primary care trusts on the closure of community and cottage hospitals.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 25 April 2006
	I refer the right hon. and learned Member to the reply given on 29 March 2006, Official Report, column 1064W.

Hospitals

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many primary care trusts in England are proposing to close community or cottage hospitals within their jurisdiction; and if she will list them;
	(2)  if she will list the hospitals which are proposed for closure; and what the reason for closure is in each case;
	(3)  what estimate she has made of the number of (a) cottage and (b) community hospitals in England which will close in 2006–07; and what proportion this number represents of the total number of community and cottage hospitals in England.

Liam Byrne: Making decisions on local healthcare provision, including the closure of community or cottage hospitals, is a matter for primary care trusts (PCTs) and strategic health authorities (SHAs) in consultation with the local population.
	The White Paper, "Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services", makes clear that any current proposals on the future of community hospitals in an area should follow the principles that it sets out. The Department wrote to SHAs on 16 February outlining how SHAs should test PCT community hospital proposals against these principles. A copy of this letter has been placed in the Library.
	The Department has not made any recent assessment of the number of (a) cottage and (b) community hospitals in England which will close in 2006–07; and what proportion this number represents of the total number of community and cottage hospitals in England.

Hospitals

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) hospital doctors, (b) hospital doctors on training programmes and (c) other hospital staff work for free; and of these how many are non-British nationals.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 25 April 2006
	All staff employed by the national health service are done so under a contract of employment and therefore receive a salary. Some international medical graduates have arranged clinical attachments in NHS United Kingdom hospitals in order to observe medicine. There is no information collected centrally regarding the number of these clinical attachments.

Infant Pain

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list neonatal units in England which regularly use a pain tool to assess chronic pain in infants; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: This information is not collected centrally. It is for individual national health service hospital trusts to consider the use of pain tools to assess chronic pain in infants in their neonatal units.

Infant Pain

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what research her Department has conducted into experience of pain in premature babies; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what research her Department has (a) undertaken and (b) assessed on the capability of newborn infants to display (i) behavioural, (ii) physiological and (iii) metabolic signs of pain and distress; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Innovation.
	The MRC has provided long-term grant support to Professor Maria Fitzgerald of University College, London for her work on infant and paediatric pain. Her current, £1 million award, is for research into infant pain mechanisms that aims to provide the fundamental knowledge required to understand and prevent paediatric pain.
	Further details are available on the WellChild Pain Research Centre website at: www.wprc.ucl.ac.uk/

Local Improvement Finance Trusts

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many local improvement finance trust schemes (a) have been completed, (b) have been commissioned and (c) are being constructed and established, broken down by (i) area served, (ii) value and (iii) year of completion;
	(2)  what estimate has been made of the number of local improvement finance trust schemes to be built or established in each of the next three financial years, broken down by (a) area served, (b) estimated value and (c) estimated year of completion; and how many are delayed or postponed.

Liam Byrne: The information has been placed in the Library.
	Up to the end of 2005–06, this information is for buildings that are open to patients.
	For the years 2006–07 and 2007–08, this information is estimated on the basis of financial closes achieved to date. There are no schemes beyond the end of 2007–08 that have yet reached financial close. The Department does not centrally hold information on schemes prior to them reaching financial close.
	In summary there are 68 new buildings open to patients with another 74 under construction supported by £812 million investment.
	The Department does not hold information centrally on how many schemes are delayed or postponed. This is a local issue for the strategic partnering board of each local improvement finance trust company.

Low Birth Weight Babies

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what definition of a low birth-weight baby the Department uses; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The Department defines low birth-weight as babies weighing less than 2,500 grams. This is in line with the Office for National Statistics definition.

Malnutrition (Older People)

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she plans to take following the living well in later life initiative to identify and implement action to address malnutrition among older people.

Liam Byrne: One of the aims in the report "Next Steps in Implementing the National Service Framework for Older People" due to be published shortly is to continue to improve and upgrade the patient environment in hospitals and care homes, ensuring that the environment of care more closely meets the needs of older people and they receive the assistance they require with eating and drinking.
	This will be supplemented by work to improve skills and competencies across the workforce and developing identifiable or named practice based leaders in nursing, who will be accountable for ensuring older people are treated with respect for their dignity.
	In March, the Commission for Social Care Inspection published a bulletin, "Highlight of the Day?", designed to assist care staff to improve the delivery of meals to older people, and to improve their experiences of mealtimes.

Newham University Hospital NHS Trust

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Newham University Hospital NHS Trust referred to in her written ministerial statement on NHS deficits of 1 December 2005 is the same as the Newham Healthcare NHS Trust of the answer of 12 July 2005, Official Report, column 989W; and what the projected six months deficit was of the latter as of the end of 2005.

Jane Kennedy: I can confirm that the trust referred to in both these written answers is one and the same. The trust changed its name by statutory instrument from Newham Healthcare National Health Service Trust to Newham University Hospital NHS Trust in July 2004. The forecast deficit at six months is therefore the figure given for Newham University Hospital NHS Trust in the table published on 1 December 2005.

NHS Practice Schemes

Ann Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many qualified (a) nurses, (b) midwives and (c) health visitors have (i) entered and (ii) completed return to practice schemes in the NHS in England since May 2004.

Liam Byrne: Between February 1999 and April 2004, over 18,500 former nurses, midwives and health visitors returned to work in the national health service. The Department has ceased to collect this information since then.

NHS Finance

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received on NHS trust financial deficits in South East London.

Jane Kennedy: There has been one letter from a Member of Parliament received by the Department on this issue.

NHS Finance

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effect of withdrawing the purchaser's parity adjustment over two years on the finances of NHS trusts with deficits.

Liam Byrne: We do not expect the withdrawal of the purchaser parity adjustment for primary care trusts over a two-year period to prevent the great majority of national health service trusts in deficit to return to financial balance in that period.

Non-slip Floors

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients were recorded as (a) being injured and (b) dying as a result of slipping and falling on shiny non-slip floors in each of the last five years.

Jane Kennedy: The Department does not specifically collect data on the number of patients injured and dying as a result of slipping and falling on shiny non-slip floors.
	The National Patient Safety Agency administers the national reporting and learning system (NRLS) which collects reports of patient safety incidents across all care settings. The current NRLS was developed during 2002 and by December 2004, all national health service organisations in England and Wales were able to report into the system.
	A search of NRLS data was conducted using the term slips on non-slip surfaces. No incidents involving slips on non-slip surfaces were identified prior to January 2004. During the period 1 January 2004 to 1 January 2006, four such incidents were identified. The degree of harm reported was either low or no harm. No incidents of serious harm or deaths were reported. The figures do not include patient falls where matting or other surfaces were involved.

Total Purchasing Pilots

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written answer of 16 February 2006, Official Report, column 2323W, on total purchasing pilots, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of total purchasing pilots.

Liam Byrne: Total Purchasing: "A Profile of National Pilot Projects", was published in January 1997 and provided a preliminary assessment of how total purchasing was implemented in the 53 first wave projects in England and Scotland. Although the study was funded by the Department and the then Scottish Office, the views expressed in the report were those of the King's Fund who conducted the research and not necessarily those of the Department. A copy has been placed in the Library.

Waiting Times

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are waiting for operations in the boroughs of (a) Richmond upon Thames and (b) Kingston upon Thames; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Waiting list data are collected at national health service trust and primary care trust (PCT) level. At the end of February 2006, Kingston PCT had 2,687 patients waiting for elective admission and Richmond and Twickenham PCT had 2,337 patients waiting.

Working Time Directive

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effect of the EU Working time directive on doctors' (a) overtime and (b) hours of work.

Liam Byrne: The Government agreed to implement the European working time directive (WTD) as United Kingdom legislation to improve the health and safety and working lives of all employees in this country. The vast majority of staff groups have been covered by the 48-hour week since 1998. The Government negotiated an extension to the WTD for doctors in training to enable phased implementation from August 2004. There have been significant increases in staffing levels across all professional groups, grades and disciplines in recent years which has contributed to supporting implementation.
	While implementation of the WTD is the responsibility of local national health service trusts the Department of Health in England worked with the health professions and NHS employers to provide joint guidance and invested an extra £46 million to support implementation, including 20 national pilots and the hospital at night project.